Case study method / Transl. by A. A. Mikhailov

Social research in a given problem begins with the accumulation of material in the form of concrete and detailed cases. The case may be an individual, an institution, a community, or any group considered as a unit for study. Case study method emphasizes the total situation or combination of factors, the description of the process or sequence of events in which the behavior occurs, the study of individual behavior in its total social setting, and the analyses and comparison of cases leading to formulation of hypotheses. A case study of a delinquent boy is presented to illustrate the study of the behavior of an individual in terms of the complex of factors in which the behavior occurred.