Home > Encyclopedia of Psychology > Case Study Methodologies

Research procedures that focuses on a particular individual or group.

A case study (or case history) consists of an intensive, detailed description and analysis of a particular individual, group, or event. Information may be obtained by means of careful observation, interviews, psychological tests, or archival records. Case study research is useful when the researcher is starting to investigate a new area in which there is little information available. Case studies are a rich source of ideas and hypotheses for future research. They can also be used to disconfirm a generally accepted principle. For example, the motor theory of speech perception was based on the claim that decoding and interpreting speech was dependent on the listener's ability to produce...