Deck 15: Selecting a Research Design for a Single Client

Question 1

What is the major distinction between the group research design and the single-subject research design?

A) The group research designs measure client behavior using two different scales that are designed to measure the target behavior.
B) The single-subject designs measure client behavior using two different scales that are designed to measure the target behavior.
C) The single-subject design measures target behavior repeatedly for a single client, whereas the group design measures a group of people on the target behavior.
D) The group research design is used only when you are using a group treatment, such as a support group for the victims of violence.

Answer 1

The single-subject design measures target behavior repeatedly for a single client, whereas the group design measures a group of people on the target behavior.

Question 2

Which of the following is/are examples of a single-subject research design?

A) the AB design
B) the XYZ design
C) both the AB design and the XYZ design
D) the CC design

Answer 2

the AB design

Question 3

Which of the following is/are examples of single-subject research designs?

A) the ABC design
B) the basic experimental design
C) the alternative treatment design
D) both the ABC design and the JCK design

Answer 3

the ABC design

Question 4

Which of the following statements about single-subject research designs is true?

A) The baseline period is the period where clients are being measured repeatedly while being given the service that is being evaluated, and the treatment period is the period where clients are being repeatedly measured on the target behavior but are not getting the treatment.
B) The treatment period is the period where clients are being measured repeatedly while being given the service that is being evaluated, and the baseline period is the period where clients are being repeatedly measured on the target behavior but are not getting the service.
C) The gain on the target behavior for the clients is compared to the same for a comparison group of people who did not get the treatment.
D) The gain on the target behavior for a single client is compared to the gain on the target behavior for an individual that did not get the treatment.

Question 5

In the label for the single-subject research design, the letter that represents a period of time where clients are being measured on the target behavior but are not getting treatment is/are the letter(s) ______

A) A
B) B
C) C
D) A and B together

Question 6

After you select your client for your single-subject research study, what is the next step in the process of evaluation?

A) analyzing the data
B) selecting the statistical method for testing the research hypothesis
C) selecting the study sample
D) developing the treatment objective

Question 7

How many different types of treatment (e.g., cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychodynamic therapy, tutoring, etc.) are included in the ABAB single-subject research study?

A) One
B) Two
C) Three
D) Four

Question 8

How many baseline periods are included in the ABAB single-subject research study?

A) One
B) Two
C) Three
D) Four

Question 9

Which of the following single-subject research designs fail to address (e.g., control for) maturation as a threat to internal validity?

A) the B design
B) the AB design
C) the alternative treatment design
D) the basic experimental design

Question 10

Which of the following single-subject research designs addresses maturation as a threat to internal validity?

A) the B design
B) the AB design
C) both the B design and the AB design
D) both the AB design and the ABC design

Question 11

What is the data collection structure for the AB single-subject design?

A) A group of clients are measured one time before treatment begins and one time at the end of treatment.
B) A single client is measured repeatedly during the treatment period.
C) A single client is measured repeatedly during a baseline period and also measured repeatedly during a treatment period.
D) The gain for a group of clients is compared to the gain for a group who did not receive the treatment.

Question 12

Which single-subject design is considered to be an experimental?

A) the ABAB design
B) the limited AB design
C) the AB design.
D) the B design

Question 13

When you employ the BC single-subject design, you have ______.

A) one baseline period and one treatment period
B) two baseline periods and no treatment periods
C) no baseline period and two treatment periods
D) two groups who are receiving the same treatment

Question 14

What types of data situations would suggest that the statistical analysis of data is not warranted in single-subject research?

A) You have an ambiguous baseline (e.g., a trend where the scores are moving up during the first part of the baseline and moving down during the second part of it).
B) an erratic baseline (e.g., scores are moving up and down in a rather dramatic manner, like 12, 23, 24, 11, 17, 31, 26, 10)
C) either an ambiguous baseline or an erratic one
D) You have an unambiguous trend during the treatment period.

Question 15

When you employ the AB single-subject research, what is/are the questions that you must answer affirmatively in order to report that your data supported your hypothesis?

A) Were the scores in the treatment period superior to the scores that were expected by the baseline trend?
B) Were the differences in treatment scores and baseline scores statistically significant?
C) Were the scores in the treatment period superior to the scores that were expected by the baseline trend? Were the differences between the treatment scores and the baseline scores statistically significant?
D) Were the scores in the treatment period superior to the scores in the baseline period? Were the baseline scores one standard deviation better than the treatment scores?

Question 16

Consider the following data analysis question: "Are the treatment scores significantly more positive than a horizontal line?" For which research design is this question most relevant?

A) the B single-subject design
B) the AB single-subject design
C) the ABC single-subject design
D) the ABAB single-subject design

Question 17

Consider the following data analysis question: "Are the treatment scores significantly more positive than the baseline scores?" For which research design is this question most relevant?

A) the B single-subject design
B) the AB single-subject design
C) the XYZ single-subject design
D) the BB single-subject design

Question 18

What is the data structure for the limited AB single-subject design?

A) There is one baseline score and several treatment scores.
B) There are several baseline scores and several treatment scores.
C) There are no baseline scores and several treatment scores.
D) There is one baseline score and one treatment score.

Question 19

Suppose you have achieved statistical significance and you are examining the issue of practical significance with the single-subject study. What is the question you must answer?

A) Was there an improvement from the baseline to the treatment?
B) Were the treatment scores more positive than the baseline scores at a statistically significant level?
C) Is the mean of treatment scores at least two standard deviations better than the mean of the baseline scores?
D) Was the amount of measured gain for the client noteworthy from a clinical standpoint?

Question 20

For some research designs, one of the weaknesses of the single-subject research study is ______.

A) the treatment effect (i.e., the possibility that the treatment is ineffective even though the data revealed an improvement in client scores)
B) the carryover effect (i.e., the possibility that the effect of the treatment will carry over from the treatment period to a subsequent baseline period)
C) the subsequent syndrome (i.e., the fact that clients might show improvement during the treatment period)
D) the handover syndrome (i.e., the handing over of the scores to a researcher will compromise the ethics of the study)

Question 21

When you have an erratic baseline, you have a good situation for the statistical analysis of data.

Question 22

The statistical question to pursue when you use the ABA single-subject research design is whether the treatment data are better than the data during the two baseline periods.

Question 23

If you have a superior research design, you are in a position to argue that it was your treatment, not something else, that was the cause of the measured client growth.

Question 24

One of the single-subject research designs requires one measurement of the client's target behavior before treatment and one measurement of the client's target behavior at the end of the treatment period.

Question 25

Both the limited AB and B designs are single-subject research designs that fail to control for either maturation or history as threats to internal validity.

Question 26

When you employ the ABAB single-subject design, you are evaluating two different interventions.

Question 27

With the limited AB single-subject design, you will have only one measure of the client target behavior during the baseline period.

Question 28

The AB single-subject design controls for maturation as a threat to internal validity.

Question 29

The BC single-subject design has one baseline period and one treatment period.

Question 30

The analysis of data for the single-subject research study includes the pursuit of the following questions: (1) Did the data show client growth? (2) Were the data amenable to statistical analysis? (3) Are the data statistically significant?

Question 31

Answer all of the following questions: (a) Does the AB single-subject research design control for maturation as a threat to internal validity? (b) Explain how it does, or does not? (c) Does the limited AB single-subject design control for maturation as a threat? (d) Explain how it does or does not?

Question 32

Answer each of the following questions: (a) Explain the carryover effect with regard to the use of the single-subject design in evaluative research; (b) Is this effect an advantage or a disadvantage to the use of single-subject designs? (c) Identify one situation where this effect is likely to be present or absent.

Question 33

Identify two situations where it would not be appropriate to engage in the statistical analysis of data in single-subject research. In other words, what would be the evidence that statistical analysis would not be appropriate?

Question 34

Answer each of the following questions: (a) What is the issue that is being addressed when you engage in the statistical analysis of data? (b) Can you engage in the statistical analysis of data for a single client if you measure the client's target behavior one time before treatment began and one time at the end of the treatment? (c) Explain why your answer to Question b is true or false.

Question 35

Answer each of the following questions: (a) Which of these single-subject designs is most feasible for the typical social worker in the evaluation of practice: the AB design, the limited AB design, or the ABC design? (b) Explain why this one is most feasible. (c) What is the most important limitation of this design?