Question 1: Define a case study in the context of psychological research.

Answer: A case study is an in-depth investigation of a single individual, group, or event to explore phenomena in detail and gather comprehensive data.

Question 2: List two advantages of using case studies in psychological research.

Answer: 1. They provide detailed and rich qualitative data. 2. They can explore rare or unique cases that are not easily studied through other methods.

Question 3: Identify and explain one limitation of case studies.

Answer: One limitation is that findings from a single case may not be generalisable to the wider population, reducing the study's external validity.

Question 4: Describe a scenario where a psychologist might choose to use a case study approach.

Answer: A psychologist might use a case study to investigate the psychological development of a child with a rare neurological condition to understand its effects in detail.

Question 5: Explain how researcher bias could affect the results of a case study.

Answer: Researcher bias could influence the interpretation of data, leading to skewed conclusions that reflect the researcher’s expectations rather than the actual findings.

Question 6: Discuss why case studies are often used in clinical psychology.

Answer: They allow clinicians to explore complex psychological issues in depth, especially when dealing with rare or unique cases where large samples are unavailable.

Question 7: Compare a case study to a correlational study in terms of data collection.

Answer: A case study collects detailed qualitative data about one individual or case, whereas a correlational study gathers quantitative data from many participants to examine relationships between variables.

Question 8: Sketch a simple flowchart illustrating the typical stages of conducting a case study.

Answer: A correct sketch should show stages such as: 1. Identify case, 2. Collect data (interviews, observations, documents), 3. Analyze data, 4. Draw conclusions, 5. Report findings.

Question 9: Explain why ethical considerations are particularly important in case studies.

Answer: Because case studies often involve detailed personal information, ethical considerations such as confidentiality, informed consent, and avoiding harm are crucial to protect participants.

Question 10: Imagine you are conducting a case study on a person with a rare psychological disorder. Describe two types of data you might collect.

Answer: You might collect personal interviews to understand their experiences and medical or psychological records to gather background information and clinical data.