Deck 15: Single-Subject Designs: Learning From the Richness of a Sample Size of 1

Question 1

Which of the following is true about the current state of study of individual subjects?

A) The existence of therapeutic professions is being challenged due to the increasing awareness of the inadequacies of the uncontrolled case study.
B) Scientific studies of individual subjects have become empirical and more methodologically sophisticated than during the early 20th century.
C) Uncontrolled case studies are increasingly being preferred to single-subject experimental designs as they relate more closely to real-life situations.
D) The recent invention of descriptive and inferential statistics is encouraging group comparisons.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In the past, observations in uncontrolled case studies were often made in retrospect.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Group experimental designs are more suited to testing novel research methodologies than are single-subject designs.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Which of the following is true of a randomized AB design?

A) Carryover effects can be tested by factorial analysis of variance, which provides the interaction effects of a phase with its preceding phase.
B) The possibility of carryover effects undermines the validity of the findings obtained from this design.
C) A maximum of two phases can be accommodated in this type of experimental design.
D) Data are recorded on more than one variable simultaneously and changes are identified in some of them in order to determine causality.

Question 5

Findings obtained with groups are always more generalizable than those obtained with an individual case.

Question 6

According to Webb, Campbell, Schwartz, and Sechrest, the convergence of data from multiple sources and multiple observations over time from an intensive single-subject quantitative design is called standardization.

Question 7

Single observations during the baseline phase and the intervention phase are sufficient in the AB design.

Question 8

A disadvantage of the intensive single-subject design is that experimenters may find what they expected to find and overlook information that is contrary to their expectations.

Question 9

In the context of single-subject experimental designs, the AB design _____.

A) is also frequently referred to as a reversal design
B) has equal probability of the presence of either the A phase or the B phase at a particular point of time
C) warrants multiple observations, referred to as time-series format, which provide greater stability over time
D) data are recorded on more than one dependent variable simultaneously in order to determine causality

Question 10

Which of the following is an advantage of single subject designs?

A) Specific mechanisms of change are isolated and the understanding of how change occurs can be advanced.
B) Information that is contrary to the expectations of the researchers is also taken into consideration.
C) The findings can be easily generalized to other individuals or situations.
D) The findings can be employed as exemplars for developing primary databases related to a particular phenomenon.

Question 11

Which of the following is a difference between the types of AB designs?

A) There is a possibility of carryover effects in a randomized AB design, whereas there is no such possibility in an ABAB design.
B) An AB design uses categorical variables, whereas a randomized AB design uses continuous variables.
C) An AB design does not involve withdrawal of treatment, whereas an ABAB design involves withdrawal of treatment.
D) A maximum of two phases can be accommodated by a randomized AB design, whereas an ABAB is a four phase experiment.

Question 12

Which of the following is a difference between ABAB designs and multiple-baseline designs?

A) ABAB designs have a maximum of two intervention phases, whereas in multiple-baseline designs, the intervention phases are applied to different dependent measures simultaneously.
B) ABAB designs identify causal relationships by withdrawing the intervention and reversing the change, whereas multiple-baseline designs determine causality by identifying changes in some but not all of the multiple dependent measures.
C) ABAB designs involve the use of multiple criterion variables, whereas multiple-baseline designs involve the use of multiple predictor variables.
D) ABAB designs are free of threats to internal validity, whereas in multiple-baseline designs, there is a possibility of threat to internal validity even if the dependent variables are mutually independent.

Question 13

Which of the following is the difference between intensive single-subject designs and single-subject experimental designs?

A) In intensive single-subject designs, researchers use qualitative data, whereas in single-subject experimental designs, researchers use qualitative as well as quantitative data.
B) Intensive single-subject designs involve single observations, whereas single-subject experimental designs involve multiple observations.
C) Intensive single-subject designs are primarily used to test a theory or discover new information, whereas single-subject experimental designs are only used to establish relationships between variables.
D) In intensive single-subject designs, the independent variable is observed, whereas in single-subject experimental designs, the independent variable is manipulated.

Question 14

Single-subject designs involve a longitudinal perspective achieved by repeated observations or measurements of the variable.

Question 15

Which of the following is true of single-subject experimental designs?

A) Different treatment phases need to be included in them to demonstrate change due to the independent variable.
B) These designs are cross-sectional in nature and involve collection of data at a single point of time.
C) They involve collection of single data points before and after interventions.
D) They produce findings which can be easily generalized to other individuals and situations.

Question 16

In a single-subject experimental design, a researcher must obtain stable and accurate assessment of the dependent variable before the introduction of an intervention in order to compare the two phases.

Question 17

In the context of the historical development of single-subject designs, which of the following took place at the beginning of the 20^th century?

A) A global measurement of therapeutic effectiveness was found to be inappropriate because of the overwhelming complexity and number of confounding variables.
B) The first experiments were performed on individual subjects.
C) Awareness of the inadequacies of the uncontrolled case study led to the existence of the therapeutic professions being challenged.
D) The invention of descriptive and inferential statistics facilitated group comparisons.

Question 18

When psychology was initially developing into a science, the first experiments were performed on individual subjects.

Question 19

In 2005, the American Psychological Association Council of Representatives adopted a policy on what constitutes empirical-based practice in psychology.

Question 20

Which of the following is true about the uncontrolled case study?

A) It uses observations that are planned before the beginning of data collection.
B) It provides ambiguous information, which is difficult to interpret clearly.
C) It produces findings that can be easily generalized to other individuals and situations.
D) It includes different treatment phases, which can be used for comparison of the dependent variables.