A Graph Paints 1,000 Words But are they Valid?: A Systematic Review of SCRD Graphs

Abstract

i. Objective: Single-case research designs are a useful methodology to investigate the effects of treatments within counseling. A core component of the design is the presentation of data collected repeatedly on a time-series graph. Research in the fields of special education and behavior analysis suggests most graphs do not adhere to reporting guidelines and specific graphical characteristics can impact decisions made by visual analysts. ii. Method: In this pre-registered (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/FU7GV) project we conducted a systematic review of 42 journals in the field of counseling. A total of 50 single-case studies, including 272 graphs were included in our analysis. iii. Results: Most of the graphs did not meet recommended guidelines for graph construction. iv. Conclusions: We provide a discussion on how graph construction may impact visual analysis and suggestions for graph construction to enhance interpretability.

A review of counseling research using single‐case research design

“…We used a preexisting dataset collected by the authors from a systematic review focused on SCRD graph construction in counseling. The full methodology for the systematic search can be found in (Brown & Peltier, 2021), but we provide an abbreviated description for readers.…”