{"id":411,"date":"2018-11-05T21:52:25","date_gmt":"2018-11-05T21:52:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/irmp102\/?page_id=411"},"modified":"2018-11-05T21:52:25","modified_gmt":"2018-11-05T21:52:25","slug":"casestudies","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/course.oeru.org\/irmp102\/learning-pathways\/nonexperimental-research-methods\/casestudies\/","title":{"rendered":"CaseStudies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Four heads are better than one.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

On the whole, this course emphasizes quantitative research. Quantitative<\/b> researchers typically start with a focused research question or hypothesis, collect a small amount of data from each of a large number of individuals, describe the resulting data using statistical techniques, and draw general conclusions about some large population. Although this is by far the most common approach to conducting empirical research in psychology, there is an important alternative referred to as qualitative research. Qualitative<\/b> research originated in the disciplines of anthropology and sociology but is now used to study many psychological topics as well. Qualitative researchers generally begin with a less focused research question, collect large amounts of relatively \u201cunfiltered\u201d data from a relatively small number of individuals, and describe their data using nonstatistical techniques. They are usually less concerned with drawing general conclusions about human behaviour than with understanding in detail the experience of their research participants. An important example of this approach is a case study.\n<\/p>\n

A case study <\/b>is the intensive, thorough examination of a single subject, or very few subjects, with a unique characteristic. The subject could be a single person or a single school, community, or event. In case studies, the observations made are generally wide\u2010ranging and detailed. The researcher\u2019s original notes are often much longer and more detailed than what is later reported.\n<\/p>\n

The case study approach is often used in clinical neuropsychology. For example, there is a condition called contralateral neglect<\/i>, which is caused by brain damage to a region of the right hemisphere called the parietal lobe. Following a lesion to this area, people with this rare affliction develop a condition where they ignore the left side of their world. Even if the receptors in their ears and skin are functioning normally, these individuals do not respond to a noise or touch on the left side of their body (the right side of the brain controls and responds to the left side). They shave or apply makeup only to the right side of their face. If asked to draw a picture of their house, they draw only the side of the house on their right. They dress only the right side of their body. If given a meal, they eat food off only the right side of the plate. If the plate is rotated 180 degrees, they proceed to eat the remaining half. Fascinatingly, despite the odd and seemingly obvious nature of this disorder, a person with contralateral neglect is unaware that there is anything wrong.\n<\/p>\n

Advantages of case studies<\/span><\/h3>\n