Describe the clinical, or case study, method, including its strengths and limitations

What will be an ideal response?

An outgrowth of psychoanalytic theory, the clinical, or case study, method brings together a wide range of information on one child, including interviews, observations, test scores, and sometimes neurobiological measures. The aim is to obtain as complete a picture as possible of that child's psychological functioning and the experiences that led up to it. The clinical method is well suited to studying the development of certain types of individuals who are few in number but vary widely in characteristics. For example, the method has been used to find out what contributes to the accomplishments of prodigies—extremely gifted children who attain adult competence in a field before age 10. The clinical method yields richly detailed case narratives that offer valuable insights into the many factors affecting development. Nevertheless, like all other methods, it has drawbacks. Because information often is collected unsystematically and subjectively, researchers' theoretical preferences may bias their observations and interpretations. In addition, investigators cannot assume that their conclusions apply, or generalize, to anyone other than the child studied. Even when patterns emerge across several cases, it is wise to confirm them with other research strategies.