Case Studies in Psychology

Designing, Conducting and Reporting Cases

Chinchu C
Psychologist, Trainer & Research Consultant
Association for Social Change, Evolution and
Transformation(ASCENT)

Courtesy: Zucker, Donna M., "How to Do Case Study Research" (2009). College of Nursing
Faculty Publication Series. 2.
http://scholarworks.umass.edu/nursing_faculty_pubs/2
 Why Case Study?

This is Matthew Ricard, known as

the “Happiest person on earth”

How would you ‘study’ him ?

Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

 Case Study
…systematic inquiry into an event or a set of related
events which aims to describe and explain the
phenomenon of interest (Bromley, 1990. p.302)

 The unit of analysis can vary from an individual to a

corporation, or an event
 Single or multiple cases can be included in a study
 documentation, archival records, interviews, direct
observations, participant observation and physical
artefacts (Yin, 1994)
 Typologies of case studies*
 Intrinsic case studies :The cases in intrinsic case studies
are chosen because they are interesting in their own right
 Instrumental case studies: Exemplars of a more general
phenomenon. They are selected to provide the
researcher with an opportunity to study the
phenomenon of interest (Eg: Misogyny, Fame, Stress,
Moral Policing…)
 Single V/s Multiple
 Descriptive V/s Explanatory
 Naturalist V/s Pragmatic
* - Willig, Carla (2001) Introducing qualitative research in psychology.
Buckingham: Open University Press, page 73 ff.
 What is a Case? Units of Analysis
Unit Description

Person The study of one single individual, generally using several different
research methods

Group The study of a single distinctive set of people, such as a family or small
group of friends

Location The study of a particular place, and the way that it is used or regarded by
people

Organization The study of a single organisation or company, and the way that people
act within it

Event The study of a particular social or cultural event, and the interpretations of
that event by those participating in it

Hayes, N. (2000) Doing Psychological Research. Gathering and analysing data.

Buckingham: Open University Press. p. 134.
 Characteristics of Case Study

 It is (Mostly)Descriptive : Highly detailed; trying to

collect as much data as possible, including the contexts.
 Narrow Focus: A single entity is studied. Limited aspects,
most of the times.
 Uses Triangulation of Tools/Methods
 Combines Objective & Subjective Data: Objective
recordings + feelings, beliefs, interpretations….
 Process Oriented: Different from experimental
methods, which are mostly ‘snapshots’.
 Pros and Cons
• Stimulating New Research: Freud and Anna O
• Question Established Theory: Kim Peek
• Giving New Insight into Phenomena or experience
• Investigating Otherwise Inaccessible Areas: Wild
boy of Aveyron

o Not Replicable
o Researcher Bias
o Memory Distortions
o No Generalization
 Protocol
A Sample Protocol:
 Purpose and Rationale
 Design (Based on Unit of Analysis and purpose)
 Data Collection and Management
 Describing Full Case
 Thematic Analysis (Based on purpose, rationale
and questions)
 Establish Rigour
 ‘Doing’ Case Study- An Approach
 Stage 1 - Describing Experience
 Interview and other possible data sources
 Iterative Interviews and Literature Survey
 Categorizing Experiences
 Stage 2 - Describing Meaning
 Meaning of Signs and Symbols
 Meaning of People, Things and Events
 Meanings as a whole
 Stage 3 - Focus of the Analysis
 Theoretical and Naturalistic Generalizations are possible
 Strategies for Establishing Rigour
Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis (2nd ed.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
What Goes with What? Integration Among Pieces of Data
Noting Patterns
Clustering Making Metaphors
Seeing Plausibility
What's There? Sharpen our Understanding
Counting Making Comparisons
Partitioning Variables
See Things and Their Relationships More Assemble a Coherent Understanding of
Abstractly the Data

Subsuming Particulars Into the General Building a Logical Chain of Evidence

Factoring Making Conceptual/Theoretical
Noting Relations Between Variables Coherence
Finding Intervening Variables
 Writing Up

 Separate the story and the findings from the

conclusions and interpretations
 Not a good practice to just list out cases
 Emphasize the common themes across cases
 Ensure proper referencing
 Be open to Ethical concerns
 Structure of a Case Study Report
1. Introduction
 Start on a broad plain and narrow down to your topic
 What are you studying?
 Why is it important?
 What do we know already?
 Why is this study needed and how is it significant?
2. Literature Review
 Place Relevant works in context
 Relate works with each other; weave a story
 Describe shortcomings in existing research
 Locate your work within the context of existing literature
 Structure of a Case Study Report
3. Method
 For Individuals: Why the person was chosen
 What makes xem different from others
 For Events/Incidents: Can be rare/critical/regular
 How you identified the event and why it is apt
 When, The leading Circumstances, the Consequences
 For Places: Description (physical, social, cultural, economic, political, etc.)
 Reason for selection
 How this place is different from similar ones
 What type of human activity(if any) describes this place?
 For Phenomena
 Focus on the human interactions
 Interactions that take place between people and environment
 Structure of a Case Study Report
4. Discussion
 Relate the Findings with Research Question(s)
 Meaning of findings and their importance; Don’t exaggerate
 Relate to similar findings
 Consider alternative explanations
 Acknowledge Limitations
 Suggest areas for further research
5. Conclusion
 Provide a general overview
 List out implications
 Do not overgeneralize
 Provide space for the ‘Black Swan’
 References

 Hayes, N. (2000) Doing Psychological Research. Gathering and

analysing data. Buckingham: Open University Press. p. 134.
 http://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/casestudy
 Zucker, Donna M., "How to Do Case Study Research" (2009).
College of Nursing Faculty Publication Series.2.
http://scholarworks.umass.edu/nursing_faculty_pubs/2
 Willig, Carla (2001) Introducing qualitative research in psychology.
Buckingham: Open University Press.