Lecture 4C: Single Subject Designs Flashcards
What continuum of research includes single-subject design?
Descriptive, Exploratory, Experimental.
What is a key characteristic of single-subject designs?
One subject.
In what setting do single-subject designs usually take place?
Clinical setting.
What does a single-subject design compare?
- Effects of one treatment & control
- Effects of different treatments.
What can we conclude from single-subject designs?
Effects of treatment based on the response of a single patient under controlled conditions.
What are the basic requirements for single-subject designs?
- Baseline & treatment phases
- Repeated measures (at least 3-4 per phase)
- A target behavior that is observable, quantifiable, and a valid indicator of treatment effectiveness.
What are the two things to look for in baseline data?
- Stability
- Trend/slope.
What does stability in baseline data refer to?
Consistency of response over time.
What does trend/slope in baseline data indicate?
The rate of change in behavior.
What is the structure of an A-B Design?
Baseline Phase (A) followed by Treatment Phase (B).
What is the main advantage of an A-B-A-B Design?
Stronger evidence of a treatment effect if the effect is replicated during two separate intervention periods.
What is a disadvantage of the A-B-A-B Design?
Carry-over effect.
What does the A-B-A-C Design compare?
The effects of two different treatments.
What is a disadvantage of the A-B-A-C Design?
Previous effects of treatment B may affect the response to treatment C.
What are the advantages of single-subject designs?
- Easily employed in clinical setting
- One subject only: easy to recruit
- Good source of data for the formation of hypotheses
- Provides pilot data for future RCT.
What are the disadvantages of single-subject designs?
- History effects
- Not representative of study population
- Limited generalizability
- Difficult to apply to subjects with acute conditions.
Fill in the blank: A-B design is commonly used to assess the effect of a new medication on pain in a single subject with rheumatoid arthritis using a _______.
Visual Analog Scale.
What is the most serious threat to internal validity in a single-subject A-B design?
History.
