PSYCHOLOGY (Code No.
037)
CLASS- XII
Instructions:
• Case profile must be handwritten
• You may use any colour ink (except red /pink /green)
FORMAT FOR PREPARING A CASE PROFILE
CASE PROFILE
ON
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Name: ………………….………………………….
Class: …………………………………………….…
Board Roll No: ………………………………….
1. Certificate
Holy Child Sr Sec School
Tagore Garden
New Delhi
This is to certify that ………………..[your name] of class XII…… (A/B/D)
[your class and section] has completed this case Profile under my supervision
and this case study may be considered as a part of the practical exam of
AISSCE 20…- 20… conducted by CBSE.
Ms. Anisha Jacob
[Department of Psychology]
INDEX
S. No. Topics Page No.
1. What is a Case Study
2. Introduction
3. Identification of Data
4. Case History
Biographical data of the Subject
➢
➢ Family History
➢ Recording Signs
5. Concluding Comments
6. Interviews & Observations
7. Bibliography
1.What is a Case Study?
A case study is an in-depth study of the individual in terms of his/her psychological
attributes, psychological history in the context of his/her psycho-social and physical
environment. Case studies are analyses of persons, events, decisions, periods, projects,
policies, institutions, or other systems that are studied holistically by one or more method.
The case that is the subject of the inquiry will be an instance of a class of phenomena that
provides an analytical frame — an object — within which the study is conducted and which
the case illuminates and explicates.
Case studies are widely used by clinical psychologists, case analyses of the lives of great
people can also be highly illuminating for those willing to learn from their life experiences.
The case study method often involves simply observing what happens to, or reconstructing ‘the
case history’ of a single participant or group of individuals (such as a school class or a specific
social group), i.e. the idiographic approach. Case studies allow a researcher to investigate a
topic in far more detail than might be possible if they were trying to deal with a large number
of research participants (nomothetic approach) with the aim of ‘averaging’.
The case study is not itself a research method, but researchers select methods of data collection
and analysis that will generate material suitable for case studies such as qualitative
techniques (unstructured interviews, participant observation, diaries), personal notes (e.g.
letters, photographs, notes) or official document (e.g. case notes, clinical notes, appraisal
reports).
The data collected can be analyzed using different theories (e.g. grounded theory, interpretative
phenomenological analysis, text interpretation (e.g. thematic coding) etc. All the approaches
mentioned here use preconceived categories in the analysis and they are ideographic in their
approach, i.e. they focus on the individual case without reference to a comparison group.
Case studies are widely used in psychology and amongst the best known were the ones carried
out by Sigmund Freud. He conducted very detailed investigations into the private lives of his
patients in an attempt to both understand and help them overcome their illnesses.
The main characteristics of the case study
1. A descriptive study
a. (I.e. the data collected constitute descriptions of psychological processes and events, and of
the contexts in which they occurred (qualitative data).
b. The main emphasis is always on the construction of verbal descriptions of behaviour or
experience but quantitative data may be collected.
c. High levels of detail are provided.
2. Narrowly focused.
a. Typically a case study offers a description of only a single individual, and sometimes about
groups.
b. Often the case study focuses on a limited aspect of a person, such as their psychopathological
symptoms.
3. Combines objective and subjective data
a. i.e. the researcher may combine objective and subjective data: All are regarded as valid data
for analysis, and as a basis for inferences within the case study.
i. The objective description of behaviour and its context
ii. Details of the subjective aspect, such as feelings, beliefs, impressions or interpretations. In
fact, a case study is uniquely able to offer a means of achieving an in-depth understanding of
the behaviour and experience of a single individual.
4. Process-oriented.
a. The case study method enables the researcher to explore and describe the nature of processes,
which occur over time.
b. In contrast to the experimental method, which basically provides a stilled ‘snapshot’ of
processes, which may be continuing over time like for example the development of language
in children over time.
Strengths of Case Studies
• Provides detailed (rich qualitative) information.
• Provides insight for further research.
• Permitting investigation of otherwise impractical (or unethical) situations.
Case studies give psychological researchers the possibility to investigate cases, which could
not possibly be engineered in research laboratories. For example, the Money Case Study.
Case studies are often used in exploratory research. They can help us generate new ideas (that
might be tested by other methods). They are an important way of illustrating theories and can
help show how different aspects of a person's life are related to each other. The method is
therefore important for psychologists who adopt a holistic point of view (i.e. humanistic
psychologists).
Limitations of Case Studies
• Can’t generalize the results to the wider population.
• Researchers own subjective feeling may influence the case study (researcher bias).
• Difficult to replicate.
• Time consuming.
Because a case study deals with only one person/event/group we can never be sure whether
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
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.
Methods used in Case study
1. Observation
2. Experimental method
3. Psychological Testing
4. Survey
5. Case study
6. Correlation
(Define each method and write two merits & demerits of each method)
2.Introduction
( to be done on a new page)
3. Identification of Data
( to be done on a new page)
4. Case History
( to be done on a new page)
(in a paragraph)
o Why did you choose your subject?
o How did you approach your subject?
o How did you make rapport with your subject?
o Methods used
o Childhood history
o Adolescent stage
➢ Biographical data of the Subject
• Name
• Age
• Date of birth
• Place of birth
• Gender
• Height
• Weight
• Educational Qualification
• Institute associated with
• Place of education
• Socio-economic Status
• Professional Help Taken (past or present)
• Attitude towards counselling
➢ Family History
➢ Family Tree
➢ Family arrangement: Joint family/ nuclear family.
➢ Family details
Name of the father:
• Age:
• Qualification:
• Occupation:
• Designation:
Name of the mother:
• Age:
• Qualification:
• Occupation:
• Designation:
➢ Recording Signs
5. Concluding Comments
( to be done on a new page)
• Summary of the Case profile: [your observation, suggestions and conclusion]
• My subject is ………………………. (name of the subject) a ………(age) year old
(male/female).
• Paragraph about the subject`s general life, (talk about school/college life, what she/he
wants to do in future, any particular change in life, attitude about life, schooling, friends
etc.)
• Relationships with father, mother, sibling, friends, teacher (under separate headings )
• What is observed in terms of facial expressions, mannerisms, etc.
• Symptoms displayed by the subject
• Probable cause of the problem
• Counselling or treatment taken by the subject
6. Interviews & Observations
(each interview to be done on a new page)
Interview with the subject
Interview with Significant Others 1
Interview with Significant Others 2
7. Bibliography
( to be done on a new page)
