Is there a particular format to research case experiences in sports psychology? (A specific method of analyzing each case to determine what went wrong or how one should improve the situation.)

-- Judy Senden (jsenden@alaska.net), January 07, 1998

Answers

I know of no specific format for case study reporting, but your question is thought provoking. Hopefully I have a suggestion you can use. Perhaps the best method to apply in case studies to evaluate effectiveness of sport psychology interventions is not a post-hoc retrospective review, but rather using traditional single case experimental designs a-priori (e.g., single case A-B-A, or multiple baseline across-subjects design). The best book on this, though somewhat dated, is still authoritative, is: Barlow, DH, & Hersen, M. (1984). Single case experimental designs: Strategies for studying behavior change, 2nd ed. New York: Pergamon Press. Single case design is advantageous in that it aids the psyhologist and the client/ patient/consultee to evaluate efficacy of methods used and make changes necessary to affect goals-- more of this should be used in sport psychology research and practice. Shane Murphy's book on sport psychology interventions (1995) is also a helpful resource in this respect-- identifying perfomrance variables, then following-through with a well reasoned planned.

-- Rob Ferguson, Ph.D. (robert.j.ferguson@dartmouth.edu), January 09, 2000.