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Single-case experimental designs: a systematic review of published research and current standards
Open accessAbstract
This article systematically reviews the research design and methodological characteristics of single-case experimental design (SCED) research published in peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2010. SCEDs provide researchers with a flexible and viable alternative to group designs with large sample sizes. However, methodological challenges have precluded widespread implementation and acceptance of the SCED as a viable complementary methodology to the predominant group design. This article includes a description of the research design, measurement, and analysis domains distinctive to the SCED; a discussion of the results within the framework of contemporary standards and guidelines in the field; and a presentation of updated benchmarks for key characteristics (e.g., baseline sampling, method of analysis), and overall, it provides researchers and reviewers with a resource for conducting and evaluating SCED research. The results of the systematic review of 409 studies suggest that recently published SCED research is largely in accordance with contemporary criteria for experimental quality. Analytic method emerged as an area of discord. Comparison of the findings of this review with historical estimates of the use of statistical analysis indicates an upward trend, but visual analysis remains the most common analytic method and also garners the most support among those entities providing SCED standards. Although consensus exists along key dimensions of single-case research design, and researchers appear to be practicing within these parameters, there remains a need for further evaluation of assessment and sampling techniques and data analytic methods.
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“A minimum of 5 points per phase is considered the standard in multiple baseline design (Smith 2012).”
From Towards a Treatment for Intolerance of Uncertainty for Autistic Adults: A Single Case Experimental Design Study. (2018) · cites this paper as Smith 2012
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“The increasing baseline rates for some incident types may have contributed to the significant declines observed during implementation. However, program effects persisted after excluding agencies with significant baseline trends, making regression to the mean a less plausible explanation for our findings (Smith 2012).”
From Intervening at the Setting Level to Prevent Behavioral Incidents in Residential Child Care: Efficacy of the CARE Program Model (2016) · cites this paper as Smith 2012
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“Single case experimental designs (SCED) provide a pragmatic alternative that, when well-designed and executed, rival the scientific rigor of randomized controlled trials while requiring far fewer participants (Barlow, Nock, & Hersen, 2008; Smith, 2012; Vilardaga, 2014).”
From Acceptance and Commitment Therapy modules: Differential impact on treatment processes and outcomes (2016) · cites this paper as Smith, 2012
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“We followed guidelines in the design, analysis and reporting of case series to ensure the method was applied optimally”
From Bringing light into darkness: A multiple baseline mixed methods case series evaluation of Augmented Depression Therapy (ADepT) (2019) · cites this paper as Smith, 2012
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Items 301–400 of 627
Baek, E., Luo, W., & Henri, M. (2020) · The Journal of Experimental Education · doi:10.1080/00220973.2020.1821342 · Cited by 9
“SCEDs provide researchers with a feasible alternative to group designs with large sample sizes, while also allowing them to study treatment effects on special populations such as children with autism or developmental disability (Shadish, 2014; Shadish & Rindskopf, 2007; Smith, 2012).”
BackgroundOphey, M., Crooijmans, G. A. H. M., Frieling, S. M. W., Kardos, D. M. A., van den Berg, R., Kerkhoffs, G. M. M. J., & Tak, I. J. R. (2020) · Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies · doi:10.1016/j.jbmt.2020.12.028 · Cited by 11
Optimal number of baseline sessions before changing phases within single-case experimental designs
Barnard-Brak, L. M., Watkins, L., & Richman, D. M. (2021) · Behavioural Processes · doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104461 · Cited by 9
van Diest, S. L., Oudsten, B. L. D., Aaronson, N. K., Beaulen, A. A. J. M., Verboon, P., Aarnoudse, B., & van Lankveld, J. J. D. M. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1123821 · Cited by 17
“…as first choice for testing new treatments, or a validated treatment in a new population, because they allow for significance testing of the treatment effects in each individual, while avoiding the ethical burden for participants of the risk of being allocated to a waitlist condition (Smith, 2012).”
BackgroundInfluentialAydın, O. (2023) · Behavior Modification · doi:10.1177/01454455231212265 · Cited by 12
“Although SCEDs are growing in popularity, single-case data face some challenges such as autocorrelation, trend, small data, and missing data (Manolov, 2023; Peng & Chen, 2021; Shadish & Sullivan, 2011; Smith, 2012; Tanious & Onghena, 2021).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialPorcino, A., Punja, S., Chan, A., Kravitz, R. L., Orkin, A. M., Ravaud, P., Schmid, C. H., & Vohra, S. (2017) · Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1186/s13643-017-0525-4 · Cited by 9
“The search protocol was validated for effectiveness [28] using a small set of well-established N-of-1 methodology documents [1, 18, 19, 22, 27, 29].”
MethodConsistency in Single-Case ABAB Phase Designs: A Systematic Review
Tanious, R., De, T. K., Michiels, B., Noortgate, W. V. D., & Onghena, P. (2019) · Behavior Modification · doi:10.1177/0145445519853793 · Cited by 9
“This finding is in line with earlier systematic reviews of SCEDs (e.g., Smith, 2012).”
BackgroundResultInfluentialPerspectives on the Use of Quantitative Analysis in Single-Case Experimental Research
Byiers, B. J., Pennington, B., Rudolph, B. N., & Ford, A. L. B. (2020) · Journal of Behavioral Education · doi:10.1007/s10864-020-09386-2 · Cited by 9
Ryan, E., Gao, C. X., Grantham, K. L., Thảo, L. T. P., Charles‐Nelson, A., Bowden, R. A., Herschtal, A., Lee, K. J., Forbes, A. B., Heritier, S. R., et al. (2024) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.24187 · Cited by 8
Noortgate, W. V. D., & Onghena, P. (2024) · Psychologica Belgica · doi:10.5334/pb.1307 · Cited by 8
How to assess and take into account trend in single-case experimental design data
Manolov, R., Lebrault, H., & Krasny‐Pacini, A. (2023) · Neuropsychological Rehabilitation · doi:10.1080/09602011.2023.2190129 · Cited by 8
“First, the data represent the most commonly used SCED: an MBD (Pustejovsky et al., 2019 ; Shadish & Sullivan, 2011, 2014; Smith, 2012; Tanious & Onghena, 2021).”
MethodLee, S. A. W., & Gates, K. M. (2023) · Multivariate Behavioral Research · doi:10.1080/00273171.2023.2229310 · Cited by 10
“Molenaar ’ s influence can be seen in the increased interest in conducting separate analysis of observational time series data for each individual (McDonald et al., 2017; Smith, 2012).”
Aydın, O. (2024) · Behavior Modification · doi:10.1177/01454455241226879 · Cited by 14
“In the literature, several studies (e.g., Chen et al., 2020; De et al., 2020; De & Onghena, 2022; Smith et al., 2012; Velicer & Colby, 2005) evaluate missing data handling methods for single-case data.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialHerrera, P., Mstibovskyi, I., Roubal, J., & Brownell, P. H. (2018) · REVISTA ARGENTINA DE CLINICA PSICOLOGICA · doi:10.24205/03276716.2018.1066 · Cited by 10
Joyner, D., Wengreen, H. J., Aguilar, S., & Madden, G. J. (2019) · JMIR Serious Games · doi:10.2196/13051 · Cited by 8
“This experimental design establishes internal validity by repeatedly manipulating the independent variable and documenting that behavior changes systematically between phases [22-24].”
Self-Regulated Writing of English Learners: Intervention Development
Akhmedjanova, D. R., & Moeyaert, M. (2022) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2022.841395 · Cited by 8
“This design can be used to examine causal relationship between the independent variable, represented as intervention, and changes in outcome variables (Kratochwill et al., 2010; Smith, 2012).”
MethodBoerwinkle, V. L., Sussman, B. L., Broman-Fulks, J., Cediel, E. G., Gillette, K. D., Reuther, W., & Scher, M. S. (2023) · Frontiers in Neurology · doi:10.3389/fneur.2023.1227195 · Cited by 8
Successful Treatment of Ptyalism Gravidarum With Concomitant Hyperemesis Using Hypnosis
Beevi, Z., Low, W. Y., & Hassan, J. (2015) · American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis · doi:10.1080/00029157.2015.1013186 · Cited by 8
“…the study methodology would have led to a more reliable conclusion that hypnosis did indeed assist in eliminating the patient’s symptoms, as the goal of a single case research design is to identify the changes in a dependent variable (e.g., stress, anxiety, and depression) over time (Smith, 2012).”
BackgroundManolov, R., Jamieson, M., Evans, J. J., & Sierra, V. (2016) · Dipòsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona (Universitat de Barcelona) · Cited by 8
Jones, S., & Hurrell, E. (2018) · British Journal of Pain · doi:10.1177/2049463718802873 · Cited by 8
Control, Exogeneity, and Directness: Understanding and Designing Quasi- and Natural Experiments
Remler, D. K., & Ryzin, G. G. V. (2024) · American Journal of Evaluation · doi:10.1177/10982140241265708 · Cited by 11
“Importantly, also included in controlled quasi-experiments are single-case designs with switching, such as AB, ABA, or ABAB studies (Kratochwill et al., 2013; Smith, 2012).”
Tate, R. L., Perdices, M., Rosenkoetter, U., McDonald, S., Togher, L., Shadish, W. R., Horner, R. H., Kratochwill, T. R., Barlow, D. H., Kazdin, A. E., et al. (2019) · Pratiques Psychologiques · doi:10.1016/j.prps.2019.03.001 · Cited by 10
Molander, O., Bjureberg, J., Sahlin, H., Beijer, U., Hellner, C., & Ljótsson, B. (2023) · Pilot and Feasibility Studies · doi:10.1186/s40814-023-01305-2 · Cited by 7
“Using a multiple baseline design [42] would have improved these measurement issues and ensured better experimental control.”
MethodTarifa‐Rodríguez, A., Ortega, J. V., & Elvira, A. C. (2024) · Journal of Behavioral Education · doi:10.1007/s10864-024-09545-9 · Cited by 9
“The current study featured a combination of RCT and single-sub-ject research methodologies, a key strategy to ascertain idiosyncratic effects (Smith, 2012).”
Reducing anger outbursts after a severe TBI: a single-case study
Rochat, L., Manolov, R., Aboulafia-Brakha, T., Burkard, C., & der Linden, M. V. (2016) · Neuropsychological Rehabilitation · doi:10.1080/09602011.2016.1270837 · Cited by 9
“The analysis of single-case data is still a controversial topic and no consensus has been reached (Kratochwill et al., 2010; Smith, 2012).”
MethodConsiderations in Writing About Single-Case Experimental Design Studies
Skolasky, R. (2016) · Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology · doi:10.1097/wnn.0000000000000112 · Cited by 4
“Smith JD. 2012.”
Poort, H., Onghena, P., Abrahams, H. J. G., Jim, H., Jacobsen, P. B., Blijlevens, N. M. A., & Knoop, H. (2019) · Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings · doi:10.1007/s10880-019-09607-5 · Cited by 7
“Experimental control is demonstrated if the changes in the dependent variable follow the introduction of the treatment (Smith, 2012).”
BackgroundRidenour, T. A., Chen, S.-H. K., Liu, H.-Y., Bobashev, G., Hill, K. A., & Cooper, R. A. (2017) · Journal for Person-Oriented Research · doi:10.17505/jpor.2017.03 · Cited by 7
“…as the lone gold standard for testing clinical intervention have in turn diminished both the use of ICTs and production of the types of clinical discoveries that RCTs cannot generate (Franklin, Allison, & Gorman, 1997; Gabler et al., 2011; Kratochwill et al., 2010; Molenaar, 2004; Smith, 2012).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialCreating Multiple-Baseline Graphs With Phase Change Lines in Microsoft Excel for Windows and macOS
Watts, Z. B., & Stenhoff, D. M. (2021) · Behavior Analysis in Practice · doi:10.1007/s40617-021-00552-0 · Cited by 7
“Reviewers report that the multiple-baseline design is found in 69% to 80% of studies (Hammond & Gast, 2010; Smith, 2012).”
BackgroundProbability and Visual Aids for Assessing Intervention Effectiveness in Single-Case Designs
Manolov, R., Jamieson, M., Evans, J. J., & Sierra, V. (2015) · Behavior Modification · doi:10.1177/0145445515593512 · Cited by 7
“, 2011) and due to the lack of consensus regarding an optimal analytical technique (Kratochwill et al., 2010; Smith, 2012; Tate et al., 2013).”
BackgroundExperimental Design and Data Analysis in Computer Simulation Studies in the Behavioral Sciences
Harwell, M. R., Kohli, N., & Peralta, Y. (2017) · Journal of Modern Applied Statistical Methods · doi:10.22237/jmasm/1509494520 · Cited by 9
Using a Systematic Review to Explore Single-Subject Design Use Within Special Education Over Time
Zanuttini, J. Z. (2020) · Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education · doi:10.1017/jsi.2020.4 · Cited by 7
Brief report: The effectiveness of Dutch Cell Dogs: A multiple case experimental study
Offermans, J. E., Duindam, H. M., Asscher, J. J., Stams, G. J. J. M., & Creemers, H. E. (2020) · Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/1359104520940744 · Cited by 7
“We urge for the development and validation of instruments for CED research, as well as for the inclusion of multiple informants and psychophysiological measures next to questionnaires (Smith, 2012).”
Denneman, R. P. M., van Bezeij, T., Kal, E. C., Marshall, J., & Pisters, M. F. (2024) · Disability and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1080/09638288.2024.2320265 · Cited by 7
“Guidelines for multiple single case studies recommend to analyze at least three clinically important outcomes that are relatively independent, targeted by the intervention, and aligned with the research question [31].”
Visual Analysis of Single-Case Experimental Designs Data: Beyond Time-Series Graphs
Tanious, R., & Manolov, R. (2025) · Single Case in the Social Sciences · doi:10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2025.2.1.43-64 · Cited by 6
“Nowadays, systematic reviews indicate that visual analysis, usually paired with simple descriptive statistics, remains the most popular SCED data analytical strategy among applied researchers (Smith, 2012; Tanious & Onghena, 2021, 2022).”
Langenberg, B., Wurpts, I. C., Geuke, G. G. M., & Onghena, P. (2022) · Evaluation & the Health Professions · doi:10.1177/01632787211067533 · Cited by 7
“In clinical psychology, single-case methodology is used to assess the efficacy of a treatment or therapy (Smith, 2012).”
MethodDayo, N., Said‐Metwaly, S., & Noortgate, W. V. D. (2024) · British Journal of Educational Technology · doi:10.1111/bjet.13468 · Cited by 6
Rochat, L., & Manolov, R. (2024) · Journal of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.jbct.2024.100502 · Cited by 11
Sanches‐Ferreira, M., Alves, S., Silveira-Maia, M., Santos, M., Tosto, C., Chifari, A., McGee, C., Savio, N. L., Bilanin, S., & Merlo, G. (2021) · European Journal of Educational Research · doi:10.12973/eu-jer.10.1.241 · Cited by 9
“Maintenance of an effect is often needed to uphold the findings of single-case experimental designs and make it possible to attribute changes in the dependent variable to the independent variable (Smith, 2012).”
Backgroundde Zoete, R. M. J., Nikles, J., Coombes, J. S., Onghena, P., & Sterling, M. M. (2022) · Disability and Rehabilitation · doi:10.1080/09638288.2022.2127937 · Cited by 6
Hardy, J. K., McLeod, R. H., Sweigart, C. A., & Landrum, T. J. (2022) · Infants & Young Children · doi:10.1097/iyc.0000000000000223 · Cited by 6
“Smith (2012) conducted a systematic review of SCD research, with a focus on the methodological quality of the reviewed studies and how different quality frameworks measure methodological quality.”
BackgroundMethodUltrasound Guided Surgery as a Refinement Tool in Oncology Research
Cámara, J. A. (2022) · Animals · doi:10.3390/ani12233445 · Cited by 6
“Looking at the current scenario, the reduction principle has been propelled in the last years with big data tools and artificial intelligence that make it possible to obtain trustable conclusions from experiments with only a single patient or specimen [4].”
BackgroundDal, E. V. L.-V., Snaphaan, L. J. A. E., de Kort, Y. A. W., Bouwmeester, S., & Bongers, I. M. B. (2023) · Design for Health · doi:10.1080/24735132.2023.2183622 · Cited by 5
“In SCEDs, a small number of patients undergo repeated measurements during the control and intervention phases (Smith 2012).”
BackgroundCan Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) Reduce Academic Anxiety in High School Students?
Novinta, D. N., & Mastuti, E. (2023) · Psikostudia Jurnal Psikologi · doi:10.30872/psikostudia.v12i1.9787 · Cited by 6
Time Series Analysis in Pediatric Psychology
Rohan, J. M. (2013) · Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology · doi:10.1037/cpp0000040 · Cited by 6
“There are a number of user-friendly resources that are available that provide overviews of software programs, tuto-rials, relevant syntax, and example output (Borckardt et al., 2008; Smith, 2012; Tabach-nick & Fidell, 2007).”
InfluentialByiers, B. J. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-981-10-5251-4_92 · Cited by 6
Hazelton, C., Pollock, A., Dixon, D. L., Taylor, A., Davis, B., Walsh, G., & Brady, M. (2020) · British Journal of Occupational Therapy · doi:10.1177/0308022620936052 · Cited by 6
“Hazelton et al. 3 Hazelton et al. 281 (Smith, 2012), with input from a methodological specialist (DD), and following a systematic process with clear guidelines to minimise bias and inconsistency (Kazdin, 2011).”
BackgroundBrabant, O., & Erkkilä, J. (2018) · Music Therapy Perspectives · doi:10.1093/mtp/miy009 · Cited by 7
“Heart rate data were analyzed through visual analysis, which remains the most common method used in single-case experimental designs (Smith, 2012).”
MethodHulbert-Williams, N., Norwood, S. F., Gillanders, D. T., Finucane, A., Spiller, J. A., Strachan, J., Millington, S., & Swash, B. (2019) · Pilot and Feasibility Studies · doi:10.1186/s40814-019-0488-4 · Cited by 7
A Case for Increased Rigor in AAC Research: A Methodological Quality ReviewPreprint
Ganz, J. B., Pustejovsky, J. E., Reichle, J. E., Vannest, K. J., Foster, M., Pierson, L. M., Wattanawongwan, S., Fuller, M. C., Haas, A., Sallese, M. R., et al. (2021) · doi:10.35542/osf.io/9qnfp · Cited by 6
Wijnhoven, L. A. M. W., Engels, R. C. M. E., Onghena, P., Otten, R., & Creemers, D. H. M. (2022) · Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s10803-021-04927-8 · Cited by 6
“To study this, a non-concurrent multiple baseline design was used (see Onghena and Edgington 2005; Smith 2012).”
MethodHerzog, M., & Casale, G. (2024) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2024.1276741 · Cited by 10
Panico, F., Arini, A., Cantone, P., Crisci, C., & Trojano, L. (2021) · Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation · doi:10.1080/10749357.2021.1923319 · Cited by 5
Leonard, A., Tairi, T., & Blampied, N. (2022) · Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning · doi:10.1080/14729679.2022.2153370 · Cited by 5
“…of the intervention, with most participants showing reliable improvement by week seven, and the replication of this effect with each new program intake, provides evidence that treatment outcomes were unlikely to be due to measurement error or confounding effects ( Kazdin , 2011; Smith , 2012).”
Sangalli, L., Gilmore, G. R., Moreno‐Hay, I., Whitehurst, L. N., Alessandri‐Bonetti, A., & Boggero, I. A. (2025) · CRANIO® · doi:10.1080/08869634.2025.2476606 · Cited by 5
“Idiographic clinical trials (ICT) [29], or N-of-1 trials, are small sample-sized studies (e.g., N 15) coupled with a rigorous analytic method of analysis particularly suitable for time series data (i.e., at least three time points) [31].”
Manolov, R., & Solanas, A. (2016) · Developmental Neurorehabilitation · doi:10.3109/17518423.2015.1100688 · Cited by 10
Bayesian Analysis for Multiple-baseline Studies Where the Variance Differs across Cases in OpenBUGS
Baek, E., & Ferron, J. M. (2021) · Developmental Neurorehabilitation · doi:10.1080/17518423.2020.1858455 · Cited by 5
Examination anxiety: a school-based intervention
Soares, D., & Woods, K. A. (2021) · Pastoral Care in Education · doi:10.1080/02643944.2021.1977988 · Cited by 5
“This approach typically includes collecting data at baseline phase to serve as a comparison with subsequent phases (Smith, 2012) and it is suggested that examination of the effectiveness of interventions is perhaps the area to which single case experimental designs are most well suited (Morgan &…”
MethodA study of flotation-REST (restricted environmental stimulation therapy) as an insomnia treatment
Norell-Clarke, A., Jonsson, K., Blomquist, A., Ahlzen, R., & Kjellgren, A. (2020) · Sleep Science · doi:10.5935/1984-0063.20210012 · Cited by 5
Examining the normality assumption of a design-comparable effect size in single-case designs
Chen, L., Chen, Y.-K., Yang, T.-R., Chiang, Y., Hsieh, C.-Y., Cheng, C., Ding, Q.-W., Wu, P.-J., & Peng, C. J. (2023) · Behavior Research Methods · doi:10.3758/s13428-022-02035-8 · Cited by 6
“Among the variety of SCEDs, the multiple baseline (MB) design was by far the most popular design accounting for nearly 50% of published SCED studies (Hammond & Gast, 2010; Horner & Odom, 2014; Pustejovsky et al., 2019; Shadish & Sullivan, 2011; Smith, 2012; Tanious & Onghena, 2021).”
Merlo, G., Chifari, A., Chiazzese, G., Denaro, P., Firrera, N., Savio, N. L., Patti, S., Palmegiano, L., Taibi, D., & Seta, L. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.943370 · Cited by 5
“SCEDs are especially suitable for establishing evidence of intervention efficacy and conducting pilot investigations, also for large-scale causal studies (Smith, 2012; Natesan Batley et al., 2020).”
BackgroundLuck, S. A. M., Moghaddam, N. G., & Dawson, D. L. (2024) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2024.01.008 · Cited by 5
McElroy, A. R., Stratton, J. E. V., & Sherlund-Pelfrey, P. (2024) · Education and Treatment of Children · doi:10.1007/s43494-024-00125-0 · Cited by 5
Smith, J. D., Erard, R. E., & Handler, L. (2013) · Journal of Personality Assessment · doi:10.1080/00223891.2013.810154 · Cited by 5
“Published studies using single-case methodology are cropping up across nearly all subspecialties of psychology in the recent literature (Hammond & Gast, 2010; Shadish & Sullivan, 2011; Smith, 2012), particularly in clinical, counseling, educational, and school psychology (e.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialSelf-citationDrotar, D., Cortina, S., Rohan, J. M., Somers, M., Hilliard, M. E., & Maddux, M. H. (2014) · Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology · doi:10.1037/cpp0000054 · Cited by 5
“However, multiple meth-ods are available for quantifying single case intervention effectiveness (Manolov, Solanas, Sierra, & Evans, 2011; Smith, 2012).”
Norman, E. R. V., Klingbeil, D. A., & McLendon, K. E. (2018) · Remedial and Special Education · doi:10.1177/0741932517749941 · Cited by 5
Maternal Behavioral Health: Fertile Ground for Behavior Analysis
Washio, Y., & Humphreys, M. (2018) · Perspectives on Behavior Science · doi:10.1007/s40614-018-0143-z · Cited by 5
“These give researchers important feedback at the stage of designing and piloting an intervention for implementing behavioral measurement at a lower cost and time expenditure (Sexton-Radek, 2014; Smith, 2012).”
BackgroundTelehealth for Patients with Chronic Pain: Exploring a Successful and an Unsuccessful Outcome
Lafontaine, M., Azzi, S., Paquette, D. M., Tasca, G. A., Greenmand, P. S., Gosselin, J., Lebel, S., & Grenier, J. (2018) · Journal of Technology in Human Services · doi:10.1080/15228835.2018.1491370 · Cited by 5
“, the biopsychosocial model), and test hypotheses about treatments (Smith, 2012).”
BackgroundInfluentialTate, R. L., Perdices, M., Rosenkoetter, U., Shadish, W., Vohra, S., Barlow, D. H., Horner, R., Kazdin, A. E., Kratochwill, T. R., McDonald, S., et al. (2019) · Pratiques Psychologiques · doi:10.1016/j.prps.2018.11.001 · Cited by 4
Kono, M. (2019) · Learning and Motivation · doi:10.1016/j.lmot.2019.04.001 · Cited by 5
Robert, C. (2019) · L’Année psychologique · doi:10.3917/anpsy1.191.0055 · Cited by 9
“La majorité des chercheurs dans ce domaine recom-mandent aujourd’hui l’utilisation de méthodes statistiques en complé-ment à une analyse visuelle (e.g., Kazdin, 2011 ; Manolov, Gast, Perdices, & Evans, 2014 ; Manolov & Moeyaert, 2017 ; Wolfe et al., 2018 ; Smith, 2012).”
InfluentialManolov, R., Onghena, P., & Noortgate, W. V. D. (2022) · Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention · doi:10.1080/17489539.2022.2040164 · Cited by 5
“CCDs were used in 1% of the studies reviewed by Tanious and Onghena (2021), in 2.6% of the studies reviewed by Shadish and Sullivan (2011) and in 4% of the studies reviewed by Smith (2012).”
MethodInfluentialMoranne, O. P., Ion, I., Cezar, R., Messikh, Z., Prelipcean, C., Chkair, S., Thouvenot, É., Tran, T.-A., Corbeau, P., & Chevallier, T. (2022) · BMC Neurology · doi:10.1186/s12883-022-02816-w · Cited by 5
“The SCED method has been used since very early on for studies focusing on behavioral analysis, psychiatry, physiotherapy, occupational therapy or handicap [25] and has become widely developed to evaluate technological interventions [25].”
MethodZwiebel, S. J., Tezanos, A. G. V., & de León, J. (2018) · Case Reports in Psychiatry · doi:10.1155/2018/4264763 · Cited by 5
Ecker, S., & Lykins, A. D. (2019) · People and Animals The International Journal of Research and Practice · doi:10.62845/bkimx9j · Cited by 6
“(Smith, 2012) and enables intrasubject variability to be examined by the reader (Morgan & Morgan, 2009).”
BackgroundAssessing Consistency in Single-Case Alternation Designs
Manolov, R., Tanious, R., De, T. K., & Onghena, P. (2020) · Behavior Modification · doi:10.1177/0145445520923990 · Cited by 5
“Systematic reviews by Smith (2012) and Shadish and Sullivan (2011) indicated that alternation designs are commonly used, accounting for six and eight percent respectively in their samples of published research.”
BackgroundMalboeuf‐Hurtubise, C., Taylor, G., Paquette, L., & Lacourse, É. (2018) · Frontiers in Education · doi:10.3389/feduc.2018.00066 · Cited by 5
“Although previous work on this issue has stated that a minimum of three assessment time-points per phase is necessary to observe change in participants, a targeted number of five per phase has been recommended, and would thus solidify future MBI n-of-1 trial designs (Smith, 2012).”
BackgroundMethodHarris, T. (2018) · Journal of Complementary Medicine & Alternative Healthcare · doi:10.19080/jcmah.2018.06.555680 · Cited by 5
State of the Science: The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP)Preprint
Cicero, D. C., Ruggero, C. J., Balling, C. E., Bottera, A. R., Cheli, S., Elkrief, L., Forbush, K. T., Hopwood, C. J., Jonas, K. G., Jutras‐Aswad, D., et al. (2024) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/qjm2t · Cited by 5
Kleiman, K., Marks, D. R., Block-Lerner, J., Tirch, D., Brady, V., Foote, B., & Silberstein-Tirch, L. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1509396 · Cited by 4
“To mitigate these limitations in future studies, multimethod and multisource evaluation may be used to enhance the validity of assessment (Smith, 2012).”
Pérez Rivero, P. F., & Uribe Rodríguez, A. F. (2016) · Psicooncologia · doi:10.5209/rev_psic.2016.v13.n1.52490 · Cited by 4
Improving Teacher-Child Relationships Using Relationship-Focused Reflection: A Case Study
Bosman, R. J., de Jong, P. F., & Koomen, H. M. Y. (2024) · Evaluation & the Health Professions · doi:10.1177/01632787241250366 · Cited by 7
“However, we should note that the number of baseline observations in the current study, on average 12.75 observations, was larger than in most single case studies (Smith, 2012).”
InfluentialReporting Quality of Single–Case Research Published in Learning Disabilities Journals
Hott, B. L., Heiniger, S., Justus, J., Randolph, K. M., Shabibi, A. A., Beasley, B., Frank, K., Mitchell, W., Tennell, C., & Wester, F. (2023) · Learning Disabilities Research and Practice · doi:10.1111/ldrp.12317 · Cited by 4
“To support SCRD quality and rigor in learning disability research, there has been increased emphasis on the use of research quality indicators (Schalken & Rietbergn, 2017; Smith, 2012; Talbott et al., 2018).”
BackgroundA Registered Report on Selective Reporting in Single-Case Experimental Research
Travers, J. C., Tincani, M., Dowdy, A., Forbes, H. J., & Johnson, J. V. (2025) · Remedial and Special Education · doi:10.1177/07419325251350697 · Cited by 5
“…the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses academic database accessed via Temple University, using the following established terms for SCER designs (Smith, 2012): “multiple baseline design” OR “multiple probe design” OR “withdrawal design” OR “reversal design” OR “ABAB design” OR “ABCB design” OR…”
Effects of asymmetric loading on lateral spinal curvature in young adults with scoliosis
Li, S. S., & Chow, D. H. K. (2018) · Prosthetics and Orthotics International · doi:10.1177/0309364618757784 · Cited by 4
Quality Improvement and applied behavior analysis: Another name for a rose that smells just as sweet
Maragakis, A., Vriesman, M., LaLonde, L., Richling, S. M., & Lancaster, B. M. (2019) · Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science · doi:10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.02.003 · Cited by 4
Investigation of Regression-Based Effect Size Methods Developed in Single-Subject Studies
Şen, N. (2021) · Behavior Modification · doi:10.1177/01454455211054018 · Cited by 4
“…be performed by simple regression of each variable in the model over time, similarly by adding a linear (i.e., time variable with no exponent), exponential (i.e., time variable with exponent), or quadratic (i.e., squared time variable) term to the regression equation, by detrending (Smith, 2012).”
MethodOpusunju, E. E., Palmieri, P. A., Domínguez-Cancino, K. A., Jaque-Ortiz, S., & Whitehead, D. K. (2022) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare10101851 · Cited by 4
“However, this design can also increase statistical power by controlling individual differences between units within conditions, so fewer units can be used to test the same number of treatments [96,97].”
BackgroundCatagnus, R. M., García, Y., & Zhang, D. X. (2022) · Advances in Neurodevelopmental Disorders · doi:10.1007/s41252-022-00294-2 · Cited by 4
“For this review, however, such an approach yielded no useful synonyms, perhaps because the topic was narrow and SSD intervention studies were relatively rare (Smith, 2012).”
BackgroundCawthorne, T., Käll, A., Bennett, S. D., Andersson, G., & Shafran, R. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0278746 · Cited by 5
“The decision to have a minimum of 12 observations per phase meets the requirements for guidelines and standards [43] and will allow for sufficient power for Tau-U analysis [44, 45].”
BackgroundAustin, S. C., McIntosh, K., Izzard, S., & Daugherty, B. (2023) · Journal of Behavioral Education · doi:10.1007/s10864-023-09506-8 · Cited by 4
“The last cluster of terms was applied to restrict results to those using single-case design (Smith, 2012) terms such as “single case” OR “single-case” OR “multiple baseline” OR “multiple-baseline.””
Cawthorne, T., Käll, A., Bennett, S. D., Baker, E., Cheung, E. Y., & Shafran, R. (2023) · JCPP Advances · doi:10.1002/jcv2.12181 · Cited by 4
“The study reports the results of a Single ‐ Case Experimental Design (SCED) as defined by the methodology (Smith, 2012).”
MethodResultInfluentialHaneveld, L. K., Dekkers, T., Bouman, Y. H. A., Scholten, H., Weerdmeester, J., Kelders, S. M., & Kip, H. (2025) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/65206 · Cited by 4
“During the SCED, the participants were monitored through ES, providing insight into outcome measures, which were measured multiple times per day [23].”
Beeson, P. M. (2015) · Aphasiology · doi:10.1080/02687038.2014.987042 · Cited by 3
“Indeed, many researchers in the behavioural sciences note (and bemoan) the over-application of Cohen’s benchmarks and call for more appropriate, domainspecific interpretation of effect sizes (e.g., Morris & Fritz, 2013; Smith, 2012; Zakzanis, 2001).”
BackgroundResultDelayed sequence intubation: is it ready for prime time?
Taylor, J. A., & Hohl, C. M. (2016) · Canadian Journal of Emergency Medicine · doi:10.1017/cem.2016.13 · Cited by 4
“Investigations using single subjects as their own historical controls are called single-subject research designs and are a form of quasi-experimental investigation that may be used to evaluate treatment effectiveness in a single subject or a small group of subjects.(8,9) In contrast, in experimental group designs, one…”
BackgroundMethodCaballero-Suárez, N. P., Iglesias, M. C., Estrada, E. R., Reyes‐Terán, G., & Rosas, A. R. (2018) · Psychology Health & Medicine · doi:10.1080/13548506.2018.1503694 · Cited by 4
“An AB design while palliating for this, by allowing for intra-individual comparisons (Smith, 2012), Figure 4.”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialPollmann, M. T. F., van Rooij, F. B., & Rodenburg, R. (2018) · Kind en adolescent · doi:10.1007/s12453-018-0189-4 · Cited by 4
“Het huidige single-case experimentele onderzoek (SCED; Smith 2012) heeft als doel te onderzoeken wat de potentiële effecten van HKO zijn bij een meisje van tien jaar met mild externaliserend probleemgedrag in de vorm van boze buien.”
BackgroundBeforschung von Gestalttherapie bei Angststörungen in Praxisumgebungen
Herrera, P., Mstibovskyi, I., Roubal, J., & Brownell, P. H. (2019) · Psychotherapie-Wissenschaft · doi:10.30820/1664-9583-2019-2-53b · Cited by 5
“In sum, single-case experimental design with time series analysis provides an acceptable alternative to random controlled treatments using groups (Smith, 2012; Kratochwill & Levin, 2010), and provides valuable additional benefits.”
MethodMoeyaert, M., Bursali, S., & Ferron, J. M. (2020) · Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies · doi:10.1002/hbe2.223 · Cited by 4
Hornsby, E. A., & Johnston, L. M. (2021) · Open Journal of Pediatrics · doi:10.4236/ojped.2021.111006 · Cited by 4
“To substantiate visual findings, further statistical analysis will be explored using the two standard deviation band method [43] [44].”
Method
Metadata
- Authors
- Smith, J. D.
- Affiliations
- University of Oregon (US)
- Corresponding author
- Smith, Justin D.
- ORCID
- Smith, Justin D.
- Venue
- Psychological Methods
- Published
- 2012
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 510-550
- ISSN
- 1082-989X (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1463
- PMC
- PMC3652808
- OpenAlex
- W1978096047
- Cited by
- 630
- References
- 648
- Citations by year
- 2026: 37 · 2025: 40 · 2024: 43 · 2023: 51 · 2022: 52 · 2021: 57 · 2020: 48 · 2019: 73 · 2018: 58 · 2017: 47 · 2016: 45 · 2015: 31 · 2014: 31 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 3.60
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- europepmc.org
- Locations
- Psychological Methods (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH20012)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychology Research and Bibliometrics
- Social Sciences › Education › Educational Research and Methods
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Behavioral and Psychological Studies
- Keywords
- single-case experimental design, study design quality, methodological standards, visual analysis, statistical analysis methods, methodological quality
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Research Design, Benchmarking
About these checks
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