ABSTRACT
The studies described in this book have been based on the nomothetic method of investigation, i.e. data based on groups of subjects. This methodological approach is very important in research such as epidemiological surveys and in the assessment of aetiological factors and the effectiveness of different interventions (Goldberg and Huxley 1992). However, some practitioners have found it helpful, as part of routine practice, to assess changes in the quality of life of an individual. This has been a useful means of identifying areas of unmet need and of auditing the outcome of individual care plans. This approach, based on an individual person, is known as the idiographic method of investigation (Barlow and Hersen 1984; Bech 1990). This chapter gives two examples of this approach by describing the changes in subjective quality of life over time as assessed by the repeated use of the LQOLP.
