Week 11 - Small N & Single Subject Designs

Question 1

name the 2 types of studies that single subject designs fall into.

Answer 1

-mostly explanatory (experimental) but also a little exploratory (observational)

Question 2

• type of experimental research
• focus on the individual as compared to groups of subjects
• ability to monitor responses over time

Answer 2

single-subject designs

Question 2

• type of experimental research
• focus on the individual as compared to groups of subjects
• ability to monitor responses over time

Answer 2

single-subject designs

Question 3

• participant serves as his/her own control, rather than using another individual/group.
• researchers use this bc these designs are sensitive to individual differences vs group designs which are sensitive to averages of groups.
• used to evaluate the effect of a variety of interventions

Answer 3

single-subject design

Question 4

single-subject research usually involves collecting data on what?

Answer 4

one subject at a time

Question 5

single-subject researchers generally use ___ ___ to illustrate the effect of their intervention.

Answer 5

line graphs

Question 6

name the 2 phases of A-B single-subject designs.

Answer 6

• baseline phase (A)

- intervention phase (B)

Question 7

name 3 limitations of the A-B design.

Answer 7

• no control comparison
• impossible to conclude causality
• strengthen by replication

Question 8

• introduces a second baseline period

- may also include a second intervention period

Answer 8

withdrawal designs

Question 9

name the 3 types of multiple baseline designs.

Answer 9

• across subjects
• across settings
• across behaviors

Question 10

what type of study is “responses to building words in children with reading disabilities. intervention: student-centered precision teaching”

Answer 10

nonconcurrent multiple baseline designs

Question 11

involves discontinuing the intervention and returning to a baseline.

Answer 11

ABA design

Question 12

sometimes an individual’s behavior is so severe that the researcher cannot wait to establish a baseline and must begin with an intervention

Answer 12

BAB design

Question 13

name 3 designs with multiple treatments.

Answer 13

• alternating treatment design
• multiple treatment designs
• changing criterion design

Question 14

what kind of design is “time and effort in picking up item in a patient with SCI - intervention: assistance of service dog”

Answer 14

alternating treatment design

Question 15

name 3 factors of dealing with unstable data.

Answer 15

1. the researcher can simply wait - occasionally a participant reacts unpredictably to the novelty of being observed.
2. consider the average of a set of 2 (or more) observations
3. look for patterns within the inconsistency

Question 16

to establish a pattern (level or trend) within a phase and to determine the stability of the data within a phase, a phase must consist of a minimum of how many observations?

Answer 16

3

Question 17

when the data in a baseline phase shows a trend indicating ____ in the client’s behavior, a researcher should ___ ___ by introducing a treatment phase.

Answer 17

improvement, not intervene

Question 18

another possibility is that the ____ data indicates a seriously high level of dangerous or threatening behavior. in this case, a researcher probably should ___ ___ for the full set of 5 or 6 observations necessary to establish a clear pattern.

Answer 18

baseline, not wait

Question 19

when should a researcher stop treatment?

Answer 19

if a treatment appears to produce an immediate and severe deterioration in behavior

Question 20

• a median line in the baseline phase

- extended to B phase to tell null hypothesis that 50% of intervention scores above and below this

Answer 20

split-middle line

Question 21

• mean performance in baseline

- at least 2 consecutive points in B outside 2SD band indicates significant change

Answer 21

two standard deviation band method

Question 22

percent of B scores that do NOT overlap with scores in A phase.

Answer 22

effect size: nonoverlapping scores

Question 23

name 3 general strengths of single-subject designs.

Answer 23

• conducted with only 1 participant or occasionally a very small group.
• more flexible than traditional group study
• require continuous assessment

Question 24

name 2 weaknesses of single-subject designs.

Answer 24

• participant’s behavior may be affected not only by the treatment conditions but also by the assessment procedures.
• absence of statistical controls

Question 25

what is an example of a descriptive research case study?

Answer 25

phineas gage

Question 26

single subject designs fall in between which 2 types of research?

Answer 26

exploratory and explanatory research

Question 27

design that provides more evidence into the results bc it gives a break from the treatment (bc you do a baseline/follow-up); proves that it is the treatment that led to improvement - provides more evidence (almost like a replication study within the same study)

Answer 27

A-B-A-B design

Question 28

measure a few behaviors with the same intervention

Answer 28

across behaviors design

Question 29

no baseline

Answer 29

alternating treatment design

Question 30

name the 3 characteristics of baselines.

Answer 30

• stable
• stable accelerating
• variable decelerating

Question 31

best to have - helps assess treatment - easier to come up with a conclusion

Answer 31

stable baseline

Question 32

question the need to intervene

Answer 32

stable accelerating baseline

Question 33

may not be able to tell if intervention is working or not

Answer 33

variable decelerating baseline