Single Case Experimental Designs

432 Pages·1984·14.588 MB·English

by  David H. Barlow, Michel Hersen

Single Case
Experimental Designs
(PG PS-56)
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PERGAMON GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY SERIES
EDITORS
Arnold P. Goldstein, Syracuse University
Leonard Krasner, SUNY at Stony Brook
Single Case Experimental
Designs
Strategies for Studying
Behavior Change
Second Edition
David H. Barlow
SUNY at Albany
Michel Hersen
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
With invited chapters by
Donald P. Hartmann
University of Utah
and
Alan E. Kazdin
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
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Copyright © 1984 Pergamon Press, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Barlow, David H.
Single case experimental designs, 2nd ed.
(Pergamon general psychology series)
Author's names in reverse order in 1st ed., 1976.
Includes bibliographies and indexes.
1. Psychology-Research. 2. Experimental design.
1. Hersen, Michel. II. Title. III. Series. [DNLM:
1. Behavior. 2. Psychology, Experimental. 3. Research
design. BF 76.5 H572s]
BF76.5.B384 1984 150'.724 84-6292
ISBN 0-08-030136-3
ISBN 0-08-030135-5 (soft)
All Rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in
any form or by any means: electronic, electrostatic,
magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Printing: 4 5 6 7 8 9 Year: 1234567890
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Preface ix
Epigram xi
1. The Single-case in Basic and Applied Research: An Historical
Perspective 1
1.1. Introduction 1
1.2. Beginnings in Experimental Physiology and Psychology 2
1.3. Origins of the Group Comparison Approach 5
1.4. Development of Applied Research: The Case Study
Method 8
1.5. Limitations of the Group Comparison Approach 14
1.6. Alternatives to the Group Comparison Approach 17
1.7. The Scientist-Practitioner Split 21
1.8. A Return to the Individual 23
1.9. The Experimental Analysis of Behavior 29
2. General Issues in a Single-case Approach 32
2.1. Introduction 32
2.2. Variability 33
2.3. Experimental Analysis of Sources of Variability Through
Improvised Designs 39
2.4. Behavior Trends and Intrasubject Averaging 45
2.5. Relation of Variability to Generality of Findings 49
2.6. Generality of Findings 50
2.7. Limitations of Group Designs in Establishing Generality of
Findings 51
2.8. Homogeneous Groups Versus Replication of a Single-Case
Experiment 56
2.9. Applied Research Questions Requiring Alternative Designs 62
2.10. Blurring the Distinction BetweenD esign Options 64
v
VI Contents
3. General Procedures in Single-case Research 67
3.1. Introduction 67
3.2. Repeated Measurement 68
3.3. Choosing a Baseline 71
3.4. Changing One Variable at a Time 79
3.5. Reversal and Withdrawal 88
3.6. Length of Phases 95
3.7. Evaluation of Irreversible Procedures 101
3.8. Assessing Response Maintenance 105
4. Assessment Strategies 107
by Donald P. Hartman
4.1. Introduction 107
4.2. Selecting Target Behaviors 109
4.3. Tracking the Target Behavior Using Repeated Measures 110
4.4. Other Assessment Techniques 131
5. Basic A-B-A Withdrawal Designs 140
5.1. Introduction 140
5.2. A-B Design 142
5.3. A-B-A Design 152
5.4. A-B-A-B Design 157
5.5. B-A-B Design 166
5.6. A-B-C-B Design 170
6. Extensions of the A-B-A Design, Uses in Drug Evaluation, and
Interaction Design Strategies 174
6.1. Extensions and Variations of the A-B-A Withdrawal
Design 174
6.2. A-B-A-B-A-B Design 175
6.3. Comparing Separate Therapeutic Variables, or Treatments 177
6.4. Parametric Variations of the Basic Therapeutic Procedures
A-B-A-B'-B''-B''' Design 179
6.5. Drug Evaluations 183
6.6. Strategies for Studying Interaction Effects 193
6.7. Changing Criterion Design 205
7. Multiple Baseline Designs 209
7.1. Introduction 209
7.2. Multiple Baseline Designs 210
7.3. Variations of Multiple Baseline Designs 244
7.4. Issues in Drug Evaluation 249
Contents vii
8. Alternating Treatments Design 252
8.1. Introduction 252
8.2. Procedural Considerations 256
8.3. Examples of Alternating Treatments Designs 265
8.4. Advantages of the Alternating Treatments Design 280
8.5. Visual Analysis of the Alternating Treatments Design 281
8.6. Simultaneous Treatment Design 282
9. Statistical Analyses for Single-case Experimental Designs 285
by Alan E. Kazdin
9.1. Introduction 285
9.2. Special Data Characteristics 287
9.3. The Role of Statistical Evaluation in Single-Case Research 290
9.4. Specific Statistical Tests 293
9.5. Time Series Analysis 296
9.6. Randomization Tests 302
9.7. The Rn Test of Ranks 308
9.8. The Split-Middle Technique 312
9.9. Evaluation of Statistical Tests: General Issues 319
9.10. Conclusions 321
10. Beyond the Individual: Replication Procedures 325
10.1. Introduction 325
10.2. Direct Replication 326
10.3. Systematic Replication 347
10.4. Clinical Replication 366
10.5. Advantages of Replication of Single-Case Experiments 370
Hiawatha Designs an Experiment 372
References 374
Subject Index 405
Name Index 409
About the Authors 419
TO THE MEMORY OF
Frederic I. Barlow
and
to Members of the Hersen Family
who died in World War II
Preface
In the preface to the first edition of this book we said:
We do not expect this book to be the final statement on single-case designs. We
learned at least as much as we already knew in analyzing the variety of innovative
and creative applications of these designs to varying applied problems. The
unquestionable appropriateness of these designs in applied settings should ensure
additional design innovations in the future.
At the time, this seemed a reasonable statement to make, but we think that
few of us involved in applied research anticipated the explosive growth of
interest in single-case designs and how many methodological and strategical
innovations would subsequently appear. As a result of developments in the 8
years since the first edition, this book can be more accurately described as new
than as revised. Fully 5 of the 10 chapters are new or have been completely
rewritten. The remaining five chapters have been substantially revised and
updated to reflect new guidelines and the current wisdom on experimental
strategies involving single-case designs.
Developments in the field have not been restricted to new or modified
experimental designs. New thinking has emerged on the analyses of data from
these designs, particularly with regard to use of statistical procedures. We
were most fortunate in having Alan Kazdin take into account these develop­
ments in the revision of his chapter on statistical analyses for single-case
experimental designs. Furthermore, the area of techniques of measurement
and assessment relevant to single-case designs has changed greatly in the years
since the first edition. Don Hartmann, the Editor of Behavioral Assessment
and one of the leading figures in assessment and single-case designs, has
strengthened the book considerably with his lucid chapter. Nevertheless, the
primary purpose of the book was, and remains, the provision of a source-
book of single-case designs, with guidelines for their use in applied settings.
To Sallie Morgan, who is very tired of typing the letters A-B-C over and
over again for the past 10 years, we can say that we couldn’t have done it
without you, or without Mary Newell and Susan Capozzoli. Also, Susan
SCED—A*
IX