Die benutting van die enkelgevalstudiemetode in Suid-Afrika

English: Single-case studies have played an important role in the development of psychology and have been used by many important theorists as a research and theory-building aid. Today the single-case study has become an unpopular and rarely used method in research and is seen by many researchers as lacking in validity. This study aims to establish how this controversial method is applied in South Africa today. Literature on single-case studies points to a division between quantitative and qualitative single-case studies with a wide range of applications in both areas. Some researchers and research supervisors are still confused concerning the possible uses and contributions of this method. South African dissertations and theses as well as international articles were identified by computer searches. Qualitative methodology was used to analyse the international journal articles (N=55) and South African theses and dissertations (N=22). These single-case studies were analysed according to five themes: (I) quantitative or qualitative methodology, (2) the specialization area, (3) the research aim, (4) the motivation for the study and ( 5) the use and value of the results. South African single-case studies are mostly qualitative and occur mostly in the systemic, social-constructionist and psychodynamic fields. The international single-case studies showed a more even distribution between qualitative and quantitative studies. South African single-case studies are mostly descriptive, choosing to describe either a certain phenomenon or process, an intervention or measuring instrument. Many researchers are motivated by the need to produce a practical application of a theory or technique. The results of these studies give practical hints for further research and therapy and show the usefulness of theories which previously seemed impractical. Single-case studies produce detailed, contextualised in-depth information that would not become available by means of group-comparison research designs.