Immediate activity Research methods used within psychology- identify if the data they collect is quantitative or qualitative. Advantages of quantitative data. Advantage and 1 disadvantage of qualitative data.

What are case studies and content analysis and when are they used in psychology ? What case studies are. What content analysis is and how to conduct one The strengths and limitations of case studies and content analysis Practical skills of conducting a case study, identifying themes and analysing results

Build Under what circumstances might a psychologist want to conduct a case study? For ethical or practical reasons (i.e. to investigate brain areas through damage) and to study the unconscious mind (i.e. psychodynamic approach).

Typically, data are gathered from a variety of sources and by using several different methods (e.g. observations & interviews). The research may also continue for an extended period of time, so processes and developments can be studied as they happen. The case study research method originated in clinical medicine (the case history, i.e. the patient’s personal history). Triangulation

Case Studies What are they?

Case Studies “An in-depth study that gathers a lot of detail about one person or a small group.” Case studies are in-depth investigations of a single person, group, event or community. Typically, data are gathered from a variety of sources and by using several different methods (e.g. observations & interviews). The research may also continue for an extended period of time, so processes and developments can be studied as they happen. The case study research method originated in clinical medicine (the case history, i.e. the patient’s personal history).

Develop Understanding Henry Gustav Molaison (known for years as H.M. in the literature to protect his privacy), who died in 2008, developed severe amnesia at age 27 after undergoing brain surgery as a form of treatment for the epilepsy he'd suffered since childhood. He was subsequently the focus of study by over 100 psychologists and neuroscientists and he's been mentioned in over 12,000 journal articles! Molaison's surgery involved the removal of large parts of the hippocampus on both sides of his brain and the result was that he was almost entirely unable to store any new information in long-term memory (there were some exceptions – for example, after 1963 he was aware that a US president had been assassinated in Dallas). The extremity of Molaison's deficits was a surprise to experts of the day because many of them believed that memory was distributed throughout the cerebral cortex.

Phineas Gage One day in 1848 in Central Vermont, Phineas Gage was tamping explosives into the ground to prepare the way for a new railway line when he had a terrible accident. The detonation went off prematurely, and his tamping iron shot into his face, through his brain, and out the top of his head. Remarkably Gage survived, although his friends and family reportedly felt he was changed so profoundly (becoming listless and aggressive) that "he was no longer Gage." There the story used to rest – a classic example of frontal brain damage affecting personality. However, recent years have seen a drastic re-evaluation of Gage's story in light of new evidence. It's now believed that he underwent significant rehabilitation and in fact began work as a horse carriage driver in Chile.

Rich & Detailed Qualitative Data Quantitative data is generated, which is often more valid than quantitative. Often provides rich and detailed data.

Validity & Ecological Validity

Avoids Practical/Ethical Issues Permitting investigation of otherwise impractical (or unethical) situations. Because of their in-depth, multi-sided approach case studies often shed light on aspects of human thinking and behaviour that would be unethical or impractical to study in other ways. Research which only looks into the measurable aspects of human behaviour is not likely to give us insights into the subjective dimension to experience which is so important to psychoanalytic and humanistic psychologists.

Triangulation Triangulation

Subjectivity Depends on the person interpreting the data, who may become too involved with the subject (i.e. Curtiss & Genie). Because they are based on the analysis of qualitative (i.e. descriptive) data a lot depends on the interpretation the psychologist places on the information she has acquired. This means that there is a lot of scope for observer bias and it could be that the subjective opinions of the psychologist intrude in the assessment of what the data means. Freud has been criticized for producing case studies in which the information was sometimes distorted to fit the particular theories about behavior (e.g. Little Hans). This is also true of Money’s interpretation of the Bruce/Brenda case study when he ignored evidence that went against his theory.

Generalisability Lacks generalisability to other times, cultures, places and people. Because a case study deals with only one person/event/group we can never be sure whether the conclusions drawn from this particular case apply elsewhere. The results of the study are not generalizable because we can never know whether the case we have investigated is representative of the wider body of "similar" instances.

Lack of Replication

An unusual example Freud (1909) 10-15 year olds

Content analysis Build What is it?

Lets have a go http://www.resourcd.com/@psychexchange/video/show/986 Build http://www.resourcd.com/@psychexchange/video/show/986 Watch the clips carefully and use the coding system to conduct and content analysis of the adverts to help you create quantitative data from qualitative data and draw conclusions about gender stereotyping.

From our data identify two connected to gender stereotypes. Thematic analysis Develop Understanding Now we have viewed our data and coded it we can look for common themes that occur such as boys are encouraged to seek risk in their play. The validity of our themes will be tested with a new set of data, i.e. do we see the same themes cropping up when we view different adverts? From our data identify two connected to gender stereotypes.

Apply it! Transfer

Notes away, quick recap time! Short term Retrieval What new research method did we discuss today? Describe the type of data it uses and the type of data it produces. Give a strength and limitation of this method.

Homework Prep reading & notes Page 69 types of validity You must make sure that you have clear notes on the different types of validity (yup at year 13 its more complex than just internal and external!) Your notes will need to make sure that you can define: Face validity, Concurrent validity Ecological validity Temporal validity You can access the ebook here: http://www.illuminate.digital/aqapsych2/ Your log on is