Week 11 - Small N & Single Subject Designs Flashcards
name the 2 types of studies that single subject designs fall into.
-mostly explanatory (experimental) but also a little exploratory (observational)
- type of experimental research
- focus on the individual as compared to groups of subjects
- ability to monitor responses over time
single-subject designs
- type of experimental research
- focus on the individual as compared to groups of subjects
- ability to monitor responses over time
single-subject designs
- 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
single-subject design
single-subject research usually involves collecting data on what?
one subject at a time
single-subject researchers generally use ___ ___ to illustrate the effect of their intervention.
line graphs
name the 2 phases of A-B single-subject designs.
- baseline phase (A)
- intervention phase (B)
name 3 limitations of the A-B design.
- no control comparison
- impossible to conclude causality
- strengthen by replication
- introduces a second baseline period
- may also include a second intervention period
withdrawal designs
name the 3 types of multiple baseline designs.
- across subjects
- across settings
- across behaviors
what type of study is “responses to building words in children with reading disabilities. intervention: student-centered precision teaching”
nonconcurrent multiple baseline designs
involves discontinuing the intervention and returning to a baseline.
ABA design
sometimes an individual’s behavior is so severe that the researcher cannot wait to establish a baseline and must begin with an intervention
BAB design
name 3 designs with multiple treatments.
- alternating treatment design
- multiple treatment designs
- changing criterion design
what kind of design is “time and effort in picking up item in a patient with SCI - intervention: assistance of service dog”
alternating treatment design
name 3 factors of dealing with unstable data.
- the researcher can simply wait - occasionally a participant reacts unpredictably to the novelty of being observed.
- consider the average of a set of 2 (or more) observations
- look for patterns within the inconsistency
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?
3
when the data in a baseline phase shows a trend indicating ____ in the client’s behavior, a researcher should ___ ___ by introducing a treatment phase.
improvement, not intervene
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.
baseline, not wait
when should a researcher stop treatment?
if a treatment appears to produce an immediate and severe deterioration in behavior
- a median line in the baseline phase
- extended to B phase to tell null hypothesis that 50% of intervention scores above and below this
split-middle line
- mean performance in baseline
- at least 2 consecutive points in B outside 2SD band indicates significant change
two standard deviation band method
percent of B scores that do NOT overlap with scores in A phase.
effect size: nonoverlapping scores
name 3 general strengths of single-subject designs.
- conducted with only 1 participant or occasionally a very small group.
- more flexible than traditional group study
- require continuous assessment
name 2 weaknesses of single-subject designs.
- participant’s behavior may be affected not only by the treatment conditions but also by the assessment procedures.
- absence of statistical controls
what is an example of a descriptive research case study?
phineas gage
single subject designs fall in between which 2 types of research?
exploratory and explanatory research
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)
A-B-A-B design
measure a few behaviors with the same intervention
across behaviors design
no baseline
alternating treatment design
name the 3 characteristics of baselines.
- stable
- stable accelerating
- variable decelerating
best to have - helps assess treatment - easier to come up with a conclusion
stable baseline
question the need to intervene
stable accelerating baseline
may not be able to tell if intervention is working or not
variable decelerating baseline
