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The effect of an independent variable is easier to detect when the “noise” in the data is minimized. Several conclusions can be drawn about the effects of the various components in changing behavior. The data should first be evaluated to determine the extent to which the effects of individual components are independent of one another. If they are not, then the effects are multiplicative, or the effects of one component depend on the presence of another component.
Multiple-Baseline Design Across Settings
If two components produce equal changes in behavior, and the same amount of change when both are combined, then either component is sufficient but neither is necessary. Over the past 70 years, single-case design (SCD) research has evolved to include a broad array of methodological and analytic advances. In this article, we describe some of these advances and discuss how SCDs can be used to optimize behavioral health interventions. Specifically, we discuss how parametric analysis, component analysis, and systematic replications can be used to optimize interventions.
Techniques Used in ABA Therapy
Figure 10.4 Results of a Generic Single-Subject Study Illustrating Level, Trend, and Latency. Two or more treatments are alternated relatively quickly on a regular schedule. By carefully considering the similarities, differences, and specific requirements of your study, you can make an informed decision about whether ABA or ABAB design is the most suitable for your research objectives. James Vrtis, CEO of Artemis ABA Inc., a technology software company focused on ABA, points out that new ABA clinics have opportunities and challenges distinct from already established clinics. It costs an average of $300,000 to $350,000 to set up an ABA clinic, according to one expert. However, Brandon Herscovitch, Ph.D., notes that “overhead costs depend on various considerations like your funders, staff salaries, additional expenses, business model, business structures, client number, and more.
VARIETIES OF SINGLE-CASE DESIGNS
This research method yields a high amount of data that can be analyzed by researchers. This data can then be used to support a researchers hypothesis and/or give insight before moving on to a group research project. He researches the topic and consults with his mentor to discover three possible interventions that are sound and feasible. He decides to conduct a multi-element design where he alternates the treatments and evaluate how his learner responds to each version of the intervention in terms of eating. Whichever intervention produces the most food consumed will be the intervention that Tim continues to use. Janet, a BCBA and SPED teacher observed that her student struggled with achieving the correct pencil grip while writing.
Experimental control is demonstrated by the repeated changes in the dependent variable with each successive introduction of the independent variable. It protects against the inability of AB - type designs to demonstrate unequivocal control by the independent variable by showing the effects at different times. It is unlikely that a confound could repeatedly coincide with the introduction of the experimental variable.
REVERSAL DESIGNS
It has been linked to improvements in key areas including language, social skills, and adaptive skills. This type of treatment may focus on helping an individual in a specific situation where they are facing difficulty. The individual often works one-on-one with a therapist, but they may also practice these skills in small groups or in community settings. We are now in a position to evaluate whether SCDs live up to our ideals about optimization.
If the target behavior is not irreversible, combining the multiple-baseline and reversal designs produces a highly effective demonstration of experimental control with multiple subjects, settings, or responses. The main disadvantage of the multiple baseline design is that a high degree of planning is required to produce a successful implementation. There are close relatives of the basic reversal design that allow for the evaluation of more than one treatment.
Data Analysis in Single-Subject Research
The second problem is that the dependent variable may not return to baseline when the treatment is removed. For example, when positive attention for studying is removed, a student might continue to study at an increased rate. This could mean that the positive attention had a lasting effect on the student’s studying, which of course would be good.
2: Single-Subject Research Designs
The step counts for all six participants increased reliably with each increase in the goals, thereby demonstrating experimental control of the intervention. This design has many of the same benefits of the multiple-baseline design, namely that a reversal is not required for ethical or potentially practical reasons (i.e., irreversible treatment effects). There are two potential limitations of reversal designs in the context of behavioral health interventions. However, we think that the benefits of demonstrating that a treatment works outweigh the risks of temporarily withdrawing treatment (in most cases). The treatment can also be re-instituted in a reversal design (i.e., an ABAB design).
Again, the researcher waits until that dependent variable reaches a steady state so that it is clear whether and how much it has changed. Finally, the researcher removes the treatment and again waits until the dependent variable reaches a steady state. This basic reversal design can also be extended with the reintroduction of the treatment (ABAB), another return to baseline (ABABA), and so on.
Variants on the AB design introduce ways to control for the competing hypotheses to allow for stronger conclusions. The percentage of responses in the treatment condition that are more extreme than the most extreme response in a relevant control condition. A baseline is established for several participants and the treatment is then introduced to each participant at a different time. Experimental designs like ABA and ABAB are invaluable in the realm of research, enabling investigators to evaluate the impact of interventions and treatments.
Aaron Tucker, founder and CEO of Forward Family Services, three ABA and behavioral health clinics in central California, recounts his motivation to start an ABA clinic. Deciding to open a new Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) clinic is the first step in an exciting phase of your career. Like any new business owner, you’ll need to create a robust business plan, save money, and go through the steps of registering your business. To top it off, you (or your staff) need to receive the licenses and credentials required of a Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA). Setting up an effective ABA program at home takes work, but it can be worth it in the long run for your child’s developmental outcomes.
Studies using reversal designs typically include at least four or more participants. The goal is to generate enough replications, both within participants and across participants, to permit a confident statement about causal relations. For example, several studies on incentive-based treatment to promote drug abstinence have used 20 participants in a reversal design [24, 25]. According to the SCD standards, there must be a minimum of three replications to support conclusions about experimental control and thus causation. Also, according to the SCD standards, there must be at least three and preferably five data points per phase to allow the researcher to evaluate stability and experimental effects [31]. Research methods are tools to discover new phenomena, test theories, and evaluate interventions.
The utility of these designs is derived from demonstrating that change occurs when, and only when, the intervention is directed at a particular participant (or whatever the unit of analysis happens to be [28]). The influence of other factors, such as idiosyncratic experiences of the individual or self-monitoring (e.g., reactivity), can be ruled out by replicating the effect across multiple individuals. A key to ruling out extraneous factors is a stable enough baseline phase (either no trends or a trend in the opposite direction to the treatment effect). As replications are observed across individuals, and behavior changes when and only when treatment is introduced, confidence that behavior change was caused by the treatment increases. In a reversal design, a treatment is introduced after the baseline period, and then a baseline period is re-introduced, hence, the “reversal” in this design (also known as an ABA design, where “A” is baseline and “B” is treatment).
They were interested in how a school-wide bullying prevention program affected the bullying behavior of particular problem students. At each of three different schools, the researchers studied two students who had regularly engaged in bullying. During the baseline phase, they observed the students for 10-minute periods each day during lunch recess and counted the number of aggressive behaviors they exhibited toward their peers. (The researchers used handheld computers to help record the data.) After 2 weeks, they implemented the program at one school. They found that the number of aggressive behaviors exhibited by each student dropped shortly after the program was implemented at his or her school.
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