Okay, hey guys, Im going to attempt to talk about the reliability of case studies so bare with me if I completely miss the idea. The thing about case studies is they generally focus on an individual or specific group of people for a long period of time, (or at least A level has shown me that) so we could easily question the reliability of most case studies as chances are because its an individual you study the findings you gain are also tailored to that individual. For example, going back to A level, Thigpen and Cleckley conducted therapy on a woman who looked for help for her blinding headaches and blackouts. After several suspect actions such as a letter that appeared to be written by two different people and an episode where 'Eve White' held her head in pain and returned upright with a completely different persona therapists concluded she had multiple personality disorder. Whilst Thigpen and Cleckley collected over 100 hours of information on the personalities some say people got too close to their patient. Other questionable data taken from this case study was the fact that they assigned a lead personality to take over completely but thats a different topic... We can question the reliability of this case study because as mentioned before only Eve White suffered from this particular MPD. We cant assume that everyone will go through exactly the same as what she went through. It could even be and should be said that some of the qualitative data collected by T and C was easily subjective. And that is the problem with case studies of this nature. We cant generalise findings and so clouding the reliability of the data gathered. That should make sense and yeah look forward to any comments :D
It is true that case study results should not be generalised, as the results are usually qualitative, and applicable mostly to the individual themselves. However, no other research method gathers data so concisely and thoroughly as case studies. Laboratory experiments do not take the time to look at why extraneous variables occur, or the backgrounds of each participant. For example in the case study of Genie, they were able to get a close analysis of her background over several years, gradually building a picture as to how and why she missed out on such vital developmental stages. So although case studies may not be generalisable, the information gained is at least more in depth and valid than any other research method.
ReplyDeleteI believe case studies are extremely useful in psychology as they give us a huge amount of information on one topic and they use a variety of different techniques when gathering the data, for example they may use questionnaires, interviews and observational experiments. The research may also build a good rapport with the patient due to case studies being longitudinal which will mean they may divulge more information than they would normally. I think they give a great insight to some complex and rare disorders. However like you have mentioned they are hard to generalise to the wider population as all the information collected is specific to that individual but I feel that case studies should not be disregarded just for this fact as they play an important part in psychological research.
ReplyDeleteAlthough case studies cannot be generalised and so are not very useful for a wide population, they can be helpful for that individual person, or for investigating a rare disorder, because much indepth information can be gathered.
ReplyDeleteLongitudinal studies I agree allow us look into a patient in depth. Unlike laboratory experiment there is no manipulation of the IV to find the DV. They allow us also to see someone in a natural setting and not feel like they are part of an experiment. However very few people are willing to take part in these studies due to the time that they take. Due to very few participants it makes it hard to generalise, how can we say this behaviour will also be seen on someone else? Finally, they do not produce quick results. Its something that takes time and we are unable to start any sort of developments.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion case studies are useful within psychology because at times they act as a pilot, in other words, from a case study you can build upon your conclusions of the result and conduct a better study with a wider sample of people to see if there is a link or correlation. As you say, you cannot say case studies a reliable, but I think they’re the best type of study for individual basis, and as psychologists we emphasise individual’s different needs and diverse thoughts. When focusing on an individual you can find more out then you can when focusing on loads of people, because you’re looking at him/her in detail.
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