What 

Is a Case Study?

A case study is an in-depth study of one person, group, or event. In a case study, nearly every aspect of
the subject's life and history is analyzed to seek patterns and causes of behavior. Case studies can be
used in a variety of fields including psychology, medicine, education, anthropology, political science, and
social work.

The hope is that learning gained from studying one case can be generalized to many others.
Unfortunately, case studies tend to be highly subjective and it is sometimes difficult to generalize results
to a larger population.

While case studies focus on a single individual or group, they follow a format that is similar to other
types of psychology writing. If you are writing a case study, it is important to follow the rules of APA
format.  

Benefits and Limitations

A case study can have both strengths and weaknesses. Researchers must consider these pros and cons
before deciding if this type of study is appropriate for their needs.

One of the greatest advantages of a case study is that it allows researchers to investigate things that are
often difficult to impossible to replicate in a lab. Some other benefits of a case study:1

 Allows researchers to collect a great deal of information

 Give researchers the chance to collect information on rare or unusual cases

 Allows researchers to develop hypotheses that can be explored in experimental research

On the negative side, a case study:

 Cannot necessarily be generalized to the larger population

 Cannot demonstrate cause and effect

 May not be scientifically rigorous

 Can lead to bias

Researchers may choose to perform a case study if they are interested in exploring a unique or recently
discovered phenomenon. The insights gained from such research can then help the researchers develop
additional ideas and study questions that might then be explored in future studies.

Case Study Examples

There have been a number of notable case studies in the history of psychology. Much of Freud's
work and theories were developed through the use of individual case studies. Some great examples of
case studies in psychology include:

 Anna O: Anna O. was a pseudonym of a woman named Bertha Pappenheim, a patient of a

physician named Josef Breuer. While she was never a patient of Freud's, Freud and Breuer
discussed her case extensively. The woman was experiencing symptoms of a condition that was
 then known as hysteria and found that talking about her problems helped relieve her symptoms.
Her case played an important part in the development of talk therapy as an approach to mental
health treatment.

 Phineas Gage: Phineas Gage was a railroad employee who experienced a terrible accident in
which an explosion sent a metal rod through his skull, damaging important portions of his brain.
Gage recovered from his accident but was left with serious changes in both personality and
behavior.

 Genie: Genie was a young girl subjected to horrific abuse and isolation. The case study of Genie
allowed researchers to study whether language could be taught even after critical periods for
language development had been missed. Her case also served as an example of how scientific
research may interfere with treatment and lead to further abuse of vulnerable individuals.

Such cases demonstrate how case research can be used to study things that researchers could not
replicate in experimental settings. In Genie's case, her horrific abuse had denied her the opportunity to
learn language at critical points in her development.

This is clearly not something that researchers could ethically replicate, but conducting a case study on
Genie allowed researchers the chance to study phenomena that are otherwise impossible to reproduce.

 Tips for Selecting a Good Topic for Psychology Case Studies

Types

There are a few different types of case studies that psychologists and other researchers might utilize:

 Collective case studies: These involve studying a group of individuals. Researchers might study a
group of people in a certain setting or look at an entire community of people.

 Descriptive case studies: These involve starting with a descriptive theory. The subjects are then
observed and the information gathered is compared to the pre-existing theory.

 Explanatory case studies: These are often used to do causal investigations. In other words,
researchers are interested in looking at factors that may have actually caused certain things to
occur.

 Exploratory case studies: These are sometimes used as a prelude to further, more in-depth
research. This allows researchers to gather more information before developing their research
questions and hypotheses.

 Instrumental case studies: These occur when the individual or group allows researchers to
understand more than what is initially obvious to observers.

 Intrinsic case studies: This type of case study is when the researcher has a personal interest in
the case. Jean Piaget's observations of his own children are good examples of how an intrinsic
cast study can contribute to the development of a psychological theory.

The type of case study that is used depends on the unique characteristics of the situation as well as the
case itself.
How to Write a Case Study

There are also different methods that can be used to conduct a case study, including prospective and
retrospective case study methods.

Prospective case study methods are those in which an individual or group of people is observed in order
to determine outcomes. For example, a group of individuals might be watched over an extended period
of time to observe the progression of a particular disease.

Retrospective case study methods involve looking at historical information. For example, researchers
might start with an outcome, such as a disease, and then work their way backward to look at
information about the individual's life to determine risk factors that may have contributed to the onset
of the illness.

Where to Find Data

There are a number of different sources and methods that researchers can use to gather information
about an individual or group. Six major sources that have been identified by researchers are:

 Archival records: Census records, survey records, and name lists are examples of archival
records.

 Direct observation: This strategy involves observing the subject, often in a natural setting. While
an individual observer is sometimes used, it is more common to utilize a group of observers.

 Documents: Letters, newspaper articles, administrative records, etc., are the types of

documents often used as sources.

 Interviews: Interviews are one of the most important methods for gathering information in case
studies. An interview can involve structured survey questions or more open-ended questions.

 Participant observation: When the researcher serves as a participant in events and observes the
actions and outcomes, it is called participant observation.

 Physical artifacts: Tools, objects, instruments, and other artifacts are often observed during a
direct observation of the subject.

Section 1: A Case History