Search

The purpose of this study was to compare 12 commonly‐used nonoverlap methods with each other and with the results of visual analysis. Data were obtained from 25 studies focused on embedded instruction and schema‐based instruction and included a total of 101 graphs. Treatment effect estimates using 12 nonoverlap methods were calculated for each graph by hand or using an online calculator. Five experts conducted visual analysis of each graph. Results showed that strong agreements existed between visual analysis and PND, TauNOVLAP and Tau‐U when raw data were analysed, and PND, PNCD and PEM‐T when categorised data were analysed. Of the 12 methods investigated, PND had the highest agreement rate with visual analysis, followed by PEM‐T, PAND, PNCD, IRD, NAP and TauNOVLAP. Overall, visual analysis appeared to be more conservative, as most nonoverlap methods overestimated the treatment effect. Additional research is needed to replicate and potentially validate the findings of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic issues linked to career counseling are a cause for concern to policy makers in developed countries because they expect career practitioners to provide evidence of the efficiency of career counseling interventions. The aim of this study was to test an individual evaluation method mixing time series (outcomes) and life narrative (processes). The method used 5 items related to 1 client's career decision self-efficacy and studied the evolution of those items throughout the intervention of 1 career counselor (43 days). Changepoint analysis helped in identifying the changes that have to be taken into account for time series and which are contextualized in the client's verbatim analysis. This mixed method highlighted that the career counselor's intervention increased the client's career decision self-efficacy. Practitioners could use the methodology proposed in this article to evaluate their interventions. They could also report their practice to clients, employers, and decision makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Socratic function of single case studies ( SCSs) is described in its relation to the problem of scientific theory development. Contrary to the traditional point of view, the single case study is not a demonstration or verification of theoretical concepts, but a method of their generation and opportunity for analysis of their interrelations. Considering the case study from the perspective of the Socratic function brings to light important conclusions about the ecological validity of theory development. The essential features of the Socratic function are illustrated using the example of the famous Romantic Essays of Alexandr Luria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of single-case research design (SCRD) offers counseling practitioners and researchers a practical and viable method for evaluating the effectiveness of interventions that target behavior, emotions, personal characteristics, and other counseling-related constructs of interest. This article discusses general issues relevant to SCRD, as well as obstacles to its implementation in counseling settings. Steps to SCRD development, application, and analysis that are specific to the counseling field are also provided to encourage its use among counselors and researchers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-case research designs (SCRDs) offer a promising alternative to counselors who are increasingly being required to provide measurable outcomes for the services they provide. Limitations for applying traditional between-groups methodologies within counseling appraisals are given, and the strengths of SCRDs are presented as a rationale for increased use across counseling settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of reporting and presenting single-case study results. The authors offer practical tips for sharing outcomes of studies, reporting visual inspection measures, conducting common statistical procedures, and disseminating results to stakeholders. Specific implications for counselors are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-case research designs have primarily relied on visual analysis for determining treatment effects. However, current foci on evidence-based treatment have given rise to the development of new methods. This article presents descriptions, calculations, strengths and weaknesses, and interpretative guidelines for 5 effect size indices: the percent of nonoverlapping data, the percent of data exceeding the median, improvement rate difference, nonoverlap of all pairs, and Tau-U. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors explored the effect of child-centered play therapy on the social competence, empathy, and self-regulation of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. This study used a single-case design with 5 children ranging from 6 to 8 years old. Visual analysis of the data indicated that play therapy was beneficial for 3 participants, whereas results for 2 participants were mixed. Discussion includes implications for clinical practice and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors implemented an A-B-A single-case research design to examine the degree of treatment effect for a nature-based, child-centered play therapy intervention with early elementary school children ( N = 4) exhibiting behavioral problems. Two participants exhibited behavioral change during the 7-week intervention and maintained the change during follow-up, as measured by classroom observations. Implications for using this approach in counseling are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Providing intervention services to students with emotional-behavioral difficulties (EBD) in the educational setting can be challenging and typically requires collaboration among a number of individuals. The authors used an A-B single-case research design to examine the effectiveness of a check-in/check-out intervention with peer monitoring on the behavior of an elementary student with EBD when using a high school student as a peer monitor. Findings indicated that both students benefited from the intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors implemented a single-case research design to evaluate a 6-week mindfulness-based intervention on counselor-client attunement with counselor trainees. Mindfulness-trained counselors ( n = 5) demonstrated attunement levels at 1.58 times the rate of a comparison group ( n = 4). The authors discuss future research on mindfulness in counselor training and the usefulness of single-case methods for empirical validation of interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-subject designs provide the special education field with an alternative to group designs. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the topic of single-subject designs by providing an overview of the relevant literature and a discussion of the major issues and applications of these designs in the field of special education. This paper is divided into four main sections: (1) characteristics of single-subject designs; (2) types of single-subject designs; (3) advantages of single-subject designs; and (4) issues and concerns regarding single-subject designs. It was concluded that a minimum of three measurements in each phase is typically required until there is a clear pattern. Flexibility and cost-effectiveness are among the main advantages of these designs. External validity and generalisability are the main concerns. However, meta-analytic studies can enhance the generalisability of single-subject designs findings within similar context. Conclusions and recommendations to improve these designs are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-subject experimental research ( SSER), one of the most commonly used research methods in special education and applied behaviour analysis, is a scientific, rigorous and valid method to evaluate the effectiveness of behavioural, educational and psychological treatments. However, studies using single-subject experimental research designs are often excluded from meta-analyses of evidence-based practices due to the lack of methodological consensus on the type of effect size indices to be used to determine treatment effect. To promote the use of effect size indices as an adjunct to visual analysis, this article describes four nonoverlap methods ( PND, IRD, PEM-T and Tau- U) and demonstrates their application to data obtained from studies employing different SSER designs. Advantages and disadvantages of each method are highlighted and considerations for selecting the most appropriate method are provided for researchers and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers whether or not effective evidence-based educational practice can be based on single-subject research designs (SSDs) in educational research. The author compares single-subject research with multi-subject research designs and discusses the difficulty of finding control groups in educational research. He evaluates prior research on the use of SSDs in education.

This study contributes to the existing literature on treatment integrity (TI) by presenting TI findings across interventions aimed at the development of social emotional skills in learners with emotional and behavioural disorders. Social and emotional skills were selected as the target for our investigation given the significance of these skills in relation to the academic and behavioural success of learners and the challenges most often faced in these skill areas by students with emotional and behaviour disorders (E/BD). The study analysed single-subject experimental studies from 2000 to 2009 in two leading journals in the field of emotional and behaviour disorders: Behavior Disorders and The Journal of Emotional Behavioral Disorders. The degree to which studies operationally defined independent variables and evaluated and reported measures of treatment integrity and associated risk factors is reported. Thirty-three studies met the inclusion criteria for the present study and TI was evaluated across six variables (1) year published, (2) dependent variable(s), (3) independent variables(s), (4) participant characteristics, (5) treatment agent and (6) assessment of TI. Results indicated that approximately 49% of the studies monitored and reported TI, meaning that they provided a description of the TI procedure and resultant data. Findings from the study point to the need for attention to TI both in the description of methods used and in the reporting of TI data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single subject research is a scientific research methodology that is increasingly used in the field of special education. Therefore, understanding the unique characteristics of single subject research methodology is critical both for educators and practitioners. Certain characteristics make single subject research one of the most preferred methodologies in special education. However, the design is not without limitations. The purpose of this article, by Orhan Cakiroglu, an assistant professor at Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey, is to provide an overview of the single subject research method's critical defining features and basic designs, and discuss what types of research questions single subject research is best suited to answer by providing examples from special education literature. Additionally, the key advantages and limitations of applying single subject research to the field of special education are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schneider MKJ, Seebach JD. Xenotransplantation literature update, November-December 2011. Xenotransplantation 2012; 19; 65-69. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Counselor education programs are ethically bound to teach methods of research and evaluation so counselors may identify counseling methods that have a reasonable probability of success. Single-case design represents rigorous research practice, is amenable to practice. and allows the practitioner the opportunity to explore interventions from quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Key elements of single-case methodology are reviewed, including benefits, specific details, and pitfalls related to conducting single-case research with children. A case study and suggestions for implementation in counselor education are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a sobering view of the discipline of cognitive neuropsychology as practiced over the last three or four decades. Our judgment is that, although the study of abnormal cognition resulting from brain injury or disease in previously normal adults has produced a catalogue of fascinating and highly selective deficits, it has yielded relatively little advance in understanding how the brain accomplishes its cognitive business. We question the wisdom of the following three “choices” in mainstream cognitive neuropsychology: (a) single-case methodology, (b) dissociation between functions as the most important source of evidence, and (c) a central goal of diagramming the functional architecture of cognition rather than specifying how its components work. These choices may all stem from an excessive commitment to strict and fine-grained modularity. Although different brain regions are undoubtedly specialized for different functions, we argue that parallel and interactive processing is a better assumption about cognitive processing. The essential goal of specifying representations and processes can, we claim, be significantly assisted by computational modeling which, by its very nature, requires such specification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study intended to examine the role of endpoints and of closures, the two most frequently referred to features, in a feature-search paradigm. Two experiments were conducted with a rigorous stimulus control using random lined figures of different levels of complexity. The experiments gave almost identical results: there was no search asymmetry between the two features, smaller latencies were obtained in the presence of a feature as a target rather than in its absence, and the latencies were smaller for the displays having a background consisting of closures rather than for those having a background of endpoints. The results were more comprehensively explained by the high contrast between an endpoint as a target and closures as a background, rather than the conspicuity of an endpoint as a target. The possibility for closures to group into a homogeneous ground was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct observation of behaviors is a data collection method customarily used in clinical and educational settings. Repeated measures and small samples are inherent characteristics of observational studies that pose challenges to the numerical estimation of reliability for observational data. In this article, we review some debates about the use of Generalizability Theory in estimating reliability of single-subject observational data. We propose that it could be used but under a clearly stated set of conditions. The conceptualization of facets and object of measurement for a common design of observational research is elucidated under a different light. We provide two numerical examples to illustrate the ideas. Limitations of using Generalizability Theory to estimate reliability of observational data are discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 433–439, 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-case research designs are often applied within school psychology. This article provides a critical review of the scientific merit of both concurrent and nonconcurrent multiple baseline (MB) designs, relative to their capacity to assess threats of internal validity and establish experimental control. Distinctions are established between AB replications and nonconcurrent multiple baseline designed studies using the initial conception proposed by P.J. Watson and E.A. Workman (1981). Despite some previously pessimistic evaluations of nonconcurrent multiple baseline designs, the findings of this review suggest that various threats of internal validity can be assessed and ruled out using either concurrent or nonconcurrent MB designs. It seems that nonconcurrent designs can be used to assess the intervening effects of history, but might be more prone to threats of mortality. These and other threats of internal validity are reviewed and recommendations are provided. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 451–459, 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence-based practice approaches to interventions has come of age and promises to provide a new standard of excellence for school psychologists. This article describes several definitions of evidence-based practice and the problems associated with traditional statistical analyses that rely on rejection of the null hypothesis for the establishment of invention effectiveness. Meta-analysis as an approach to ascertain EBPs is reviewed along with the inherent difficulties associated with single subject design research such as autocorrelations. Four meta-analytic approaches are reviewed which include Percentage of Nonoverlapping Data points (PND), the Busk and Serlin: Assumption models, ITSACORR, and Hierarchical Linear Modeling (HLM). HLM is offered as the most promising approach for the analysis for single subject designs. Monte Carlo simulations are modeled with varying degrees of autocorrelations, differing numbers of data points, and simulated effects sizes to show that HLM is an acceptable approach for controlling the risk of Type I errors. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 44: 483–493, 2007. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Good quantitative evidence does not require large, aggregate group designs. The authors describe ground-breaking work in managing the conceptual and practical demands in developing meta-analytic strategies for single subject designs in an effort to add to evidence-based practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a response by Ralph W. Schlosser to a review of his book on meta-analysis of single-subject research, published in the "International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders."

This study investigated the functional relationship between student accurate response levels and two mathematics drill procedures using a BCBC across participant's single case research design (in this case, “B” represents peer drill and “C” represents computer drill). Each of four elementary school students was randomly assigned to one of two dyads and presented addition flashcards under a computerized drill condition and a peer-mediated drill condition. In both conditions, students were drilled for 3 minutes on addition facts with immediate feedback (i.e., “Correct” or “Not correct”). Results suggested that the two somewhat older students showed higher levels of accurate responding in the computer condition, while the two younger students showed higher levels of accurate responding in the peer-tutoring condition. Discussion focuses on potential hypotheses for performance discrepancies across dyads, importance of matching instructional conditions with idiosyncratic variables, and implications for practice and future research. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 42: 637–646, 2005. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Single case studies are a valuable means of providing information about the outcomes of speech and language intervention. Many previous studies have used phonological analysis as a theoretical basis, while others have used psycholinguistic models. The present study combines these approaches to assessment, intervention and evaluation of outcomes. Aims: The aim of the research was to determine if intensive psycholinguistically based intervention could result in (a) specific and (b) generalized improvements in the speech production of a child with severe and persisting phonological difficulties. Methods and Procedures: A single subject research design was used with pre- and post-intervention assessment carried out. Assessment took place at two levels: the macro level focused on global change in the child's speech processing system using psycholinguistic speech profiling and phonological analyses; the micro assessment focused on specific, treated (and matched control) stimuli. There were three phases of intervention with a total of 30 hours of therapy. Outcomes and Results: Micro evaluation showed significant changes in Katy's single word and connected speech production – as well as in other areas such as spelling and auditory discrimination of closely related real word pairs. Macro evaluation revealed significant improvement in speech severity indices (PCC, PPC), and gains in her ability to discriminate between closely related real word pairs. These changes were maintained at follow-up seven months after intervention had ceased. Conclusions: Specific and intensive intervention brought about significant improvements in this child's speech, spelling and auditory discrimination at the micro level, and in speech and auditory discrimination at a macro level. The macro level assessments reveal persisting core deficits requiring further focused intervention before changes can be observed more widely. When carefully defined and evaluated, speech and language intervention can have positive outcomes for children with severe and persisting speech difficulties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The single subject trial is a randomized controlled trial carried out in the individual patient, and the result obtained is specific to the individual patient and the drug being investigated. This type of trial offers a supplement to traditional parallel group trials, especially in patients with heterogeneous disorders, often characterized by varying treatment responses and/or high placebo response rates. Pooled results from several individual single subject trials could extend the conclusions beyond the individual patient, and help to characterize a subset of responders to a specific treatment or clarify the heterogeneity of the disease. The basic principles of the different single subject trial designs are described. Advantages and limitations are reviewed with a special focus on published trials in functional gastrointestinal disorders. The single subject trial may be a valuable supplement to traditional drug treatment trials, either used as isolated trials in individual patients to determine optimal therapy, or in groups of patients to identify those with a uniform response to treatment. However, the lack of validation and reliability studies limits the value of the single subject trials presented so far. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the value of single-case research within the field of speech and language therapy. Support for clinic based research; Role of clinic-based speech and language therapist in advancing the knowledge of communication disorders and their treatment; Arguments presented with respect to stammering; Potential for conducting research using the methodology in a clinical environment; Single case study of pre-school dysfluency.

Within the context of a longitudinal study of 99 men with drinking problems, we present a detailed case analysis of one subject whom we have now followed up by interview and record-search for 16 years, and who has considerably ameliorated his drinking behaviour. Our intention is to explore the value of the single-case approach as complementary to more formal research methods. It is argued that analysis of the single case can be of value in sharpening awareness of the complexity and the evolutionary nature of the processes of 'career and natural history'. Some research issues to which this case seems to point are identified and listed. Both psychodynamic arid learning theory concepts are applicable, and changes in physical reaction to alcohol need to be considered. The idea of a graded dependence syndrome has more heuristic value than such categorical entities as 'addict' or 'non-addict' Processes and influences which 'stabilize' or 'destabilize' drinking behaviour should be identified. Within the context of a longitudinal study of 99 men with drinking problems, we present a detailed case analysis of one subject whom we have now followed up by interview and record-search for 16 years, and who has considerably ameliorated his drinking behaviour. Our intention is to explore the value of the single-case approach as complementary to more formal research methods. It is argued that analysis of the single case can be of value in sharpening awareness of the complexity and the evolutionary nature of the processes of 'career and natural history'. Some research issues to which this case seems to point are identified and listed. Both psychodynamic arid learning theory concepts are applicable, and changes in physical reaction to alcohol need to be considered. The idea of a graded dependence syndrome has more heuristic value than such categorical entities as 'addict' or 'non-addict' Processes and influences which 'stabilize' or 'destabilize' drinking behaviour should be... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors reflect on the importance of single case studies in the field of psychology and neuroscience. Particular focus is given to the role played by single cases in scientific progress. Also mentioned are a breakthrough in neurology during the 19th century, neuropsychologist Alexander Luria's theory of systems and dynamic localization of cognitive functions, and the benefit of conducting single case research.

An abstract of the article "Interrater reliability and convergent validity of the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Development Medicine methodology for conducting systematic reviews (single subject designs)" by L. Romeiser Logan and colleagues is presented.