A case study is an in-depth study of one person, group, or event. In a case study, nearly every aspect of the subject’s life and history is analyzed to seek patterns and causes of behavior.
Case studies can be used in a variety of fields including psychology, medicine, education, anthropology, political science, and social work.
The hope is that learning gained from studying one case can be generalized to many others. Unfortunately, case studies tend to be highly subjective and it is sometimes difficult to generalize results to a larger population.
While case studies focus on a single individual or group, they follow a format that is similar to other types of psychology writing. If you are writing a case study, it is important to follow the rules of APA format.
