Initially excluded from many evaluations of education research, single-case designs have recently received wider acceptance within and beyond special education. The growing approval of single-case design has coincided with an increasing departure from convention, such as the visual analysis of results, and the emphasis on effect sizes comparable with those associated with group designs. The use of design-comparable effect sizes by the What Works Clearinghouse has potential implications for the experimental literature in special education, which is largely composed of single-case designs that may not meet the assumptions required for statistical analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFApplied behavior analysts have traditionally relied on visual analysis of graphic data displays to determine the extent of functional relations between variables and guide treatment implementation. The present study assessed the influence of graph type on behavior analysts' ( = 51) ratings of trend magnitude, treatment decisions based on changes in trend, and their confidence in decision making. Participants examined simulated data presented on linear graphs featuring equal-interval scales as well as graphs with ratio scales (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPerspect Behav Sci
December 2020
Literature reviews allow professionals to identify effective interventions and assess developments in research and practice. As in other forms of scientific inquiry, the transparency of literature searches enhances the credibility of findings, particularly in regards to intervention research. The current review evaluated the characteristics of search methods employed in literature reviews appearing in publications concerning behavior analysis ( = 28) from 1997 to 2017.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this replication study was to evaluate the potential efficacy and feasibility of an early reading intervention for children with Down syndrome. The intervention was developed in alignment with the Down syndrome behavioral phenotype. Six children between the ages of seven and ten years participated in a series of multiple-probe across lessons single-case design studies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany children with Down syndrome demonstrate deficits in phonological awareness, a prerequisite to learning to read in an alphabetic language. The purpose of this study was to determine whether adapting a commercially available phonological awareness program to better align with characteristics associated with the behavioral phenotype of Down syndrome would increase children's learning of phonological awareness, letter sounds, and words. Five children with Down syndrome, ages 6 to 8 years, participated in a multiple baseline across participants single case design experiment in which response to an adapted phonological awareness intervention was compared with response to the nonadapted program.
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