A Clinician’s Primer for Idiographic Research: Considerations and Recommendations
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Abstract
Theorists and clinicians have long noted the need for idiographic (i.e., individual-level) designs within clinical psychology. Results from idiographic work may provide a possible resolution of the therapist's dilemma-the problem of treating an individual using information gathered via group-level research. Due to advances in data collection and time series methodology, there has been increasing interest in using idiographic designs to answer clinical questions. Although time series methods have been well-studied outside the field of clinical psychology, there is limited direction on how clinicians can use such models to inform their clinical practice. In this primer, we collate decades of published and word-of-mouth information on idiographic designs, measurement, and modeling. We aim to provide an initial guide on the theoretical and practical considerations that we urge interested clinicians to consider before conducting idiographic work of their own.
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- Authors
- Piccirillo, M. L., Beck, E. D., & Rodebaugh, T. L.
- Affiliations
- Washington University in St. Louis (US)
- Corresponding author
- Piccirillo, Marilyn L.
- Venue
- Behavior Therapy
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2019-09
- Volume
- 50
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 938-951
- ISSN
- 0005-7894 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC13247546
- OpenAlex
- W2919463216
- Cited by
- 90
- References
- 78
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 17 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 16.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Behavior Therapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (F31 MH 115641)
- National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression
- Brain and Behavior Research Foundation (25785)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Behavioral and Psychological Studies
- Keywords
- idiographic research, time series models, clinical psychology research, measurement, modeling
- MeSH terms
- Attitude of Health Personnel, Humans, Physicians, Research Design, Research Personnel
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