CASE STUDY

CASE STUDY

        The term ‘case’ is used in a number of ways conveying different meanings in our day-to-day life. A lawyer helps his client by arguing his case in a court of low. A doctor attending a case diagnoses the disease of his patient and prescribes appropriate medicines. In all such situations, the term ‘case’ is used for a person or matter put to examination, observation or investigation for the purpose of helping the concerned individual in deciding or solving the problem related to him. In subject Psycology, the term case is also used almost in the similar sense. Here the individual who is confronted with an educational, vocational Sociopsycological or personal problem is termed as a “case” and is subjected to proper study.

      Case study is a minute study of a particular individual case. It is the in-depth analysis of a person, group or phenomenon. This method is applied to study special behavioral problems of an individual by specially trained teachers, Psychologists and Psychiatrists. The main better with the environment and gain self, confidence to attain higher levels of achievement.

                     

OBJECTIVES OF THE CASE STUDY

                      Case study is carried out mainly to serve following two purposes.

1.                                                                                  DAIGNOSIS TREATMENT OF BEHAVIOURAL PROBLEMS

                              Some individuals may suffer from one or the other behavioral problems on account of their self or the environment. The case study method thus aims at going into the depth of the nature of the problem search for the probable cause of the eruption of this behavior and then suggests the possible remedial or treatment measures for helping the suffer or get rid of the problem.

2.                                                                                  TO ROVIDE BETTER GUIDENCE AND COUNSELLING  

The case study methods and techniques are quite helpful to guidance personal and counselors in exercising their responsibilities in an effective way. In this way whatever guidance or counseling is given to a guidance seeker or counselee depends to great extent on the results of his case study, much in the same way as a doctor has to carry out the proper diagnosis of his patients problem before subscribing any medicines for the treatment.

SUBJECTS OF THE CASE STUDY

                               It must be clear that whosever feels any kind of difficulty and problem in his adjustment, development or progress, or due to one reason or the other, if we as investigators are interested in the investigation or study of one’s behavior, the such individual may be treated as a case or carrying out the study in a quite professional and technical way. Thus all individuals, whether normal or abnormal average above average or below average in the possession of the abilities or capacities related to their growth and development, personality traits or adjustment may be taken as a subject for the case study.

MERITS AND DEMERITS OF CASE STUDY METHOD

MERITS                    

·       It provides quite a deep, intensive and overall investigation of the behavior of the individual with respect to his past and the present. Here he is studied as a complete case in relation to his environmental surroundings, developmental characteristics and adjustment difficulties.

·       The method can play an effective role in the proper identification, diagnosis and subsequent remedial work, adjustment and rehabilitation of the problem children maladjusted or maladaptive personalities, emotionally or socially disturbed individuals, delinquents, criminals, or antisocial persons by studying them thoroughly as individual cases.

·       In this method of behavior study, the scope and range of study is quite wide and comprehensive.

·       This method provides opportunity to and collecting data on personal basis by seeking personal interview, going close to the original source of informational etc.

DEMERITS

·       The case study working is quite a technical and professional work. It cant be entrusted to the classroom subject teachers. There is a need for specially trained teachers or professional for carrying out the studies.

·       There is a need of collecting so much of the information regarding a case from a number of persons or sources.

·       There is no guarantee of objectivity, relativity and validity of the information or data collected from the variety of sources for the analysis and investigation the behavior of the subject.

·       The field of application of this method is quite narrow and limited. It can only be used properly for the investigation of the behavior of the problem children or antisocial or deviant personalities.

·       There is no provision of studying the behavior in a properly controlled laboratory like situation. There for we can not expect the required objectivity, reliability and validity in the results of the study carried out through the case study method like in the experimental in the scientific observations.

·       The task of proper analysis and interpretation of the collected information, drawing conclusion and then having its proper generalization is quite difficult and technical.

    ASHITHA.S

SOCIAL SCIENCE