Prevalence of Research Design in Special Education: A Survey of Peer-Reviewed Journals

King, Seth A.; Wang, Lanqi; Nylen, Brendon; Enders, Olivia

doi:10.1177/07419325231152453

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Time-series graphs are hallmarks of single-case designs (SCDs), which provide a rigorous method for evaluating the causal impact of interventions in applied settings (Ledford, 2018). Published studies using SCD methodology make up a sizeable proportion of intervention research in school psychology and related areas (Burns et al, 2012; King et al, 2023). However, a growing body of literature suggests that visual analysts’ decisions regarding time-series data can be influenced by construct-irrelevant features.…”

Section: Uses Of Time-series Graphs To Support Decisions In Mtssmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of portable interventions on school psychologists’ graph-rating inconsistency.

Latham,

Klingbeil

2024

School Psychology

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The visual analysis of data presented in time-series graphs are common in single-case design (SCD) research and applied practice in school psychology. A growing body of research suggests that visual analysts' ratings are often influenced by construct-irrelevant features including Y-axis truncation and compression of the number of data points per X-to Y-axis ratio. We developed and tested two brief interventions, based on the research in cognitive and visual science, to reduce visual analysts' inconsistency when viewing unstandardized graphs. Two hundred practicing school psychologists visually analyzed data presented on standardized graphs and the same data again on unstandardized graphs. Across all conditions, participants were more willing to identify meaningful effects on unstandardized graphs and rated the data as showing significantly larger effects than on the corresponding standardized graphs. However, participants who answered additional (task-relevant) questions about the level or trend of graphed data showed greater rating consistency across the types of graphs in comparison to participants who answered task-irrelevant but challenging questions or control participants. Our results replicated prior research demonstrating the impact of SCD graph construction on practicing school psychologists' interpretations and provide initial support for an intervention to minimize the impact of construct-irrelevant factors. Limitations and future directions for research are discussed. Impact and ImplicationsDespite calls to standardize graph construction in single-case design, variability in graph construction is likely to impact visual analysis of time-series data. Interventions that can be readily applied to reduce inconsistencies of ratings of data presented on unstandardized graphs may result in more consistent ratings of time-series data. We provide preliminary evidence that a brief, attention-based intervention reduces graph-rating inconsistency in ratings of effect size magnitude among school psychologists.

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Section: Uses Of Time-series Graphs To Support Decisions In Mtssmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of portable interventions on school psychologists’ graph-rating inconsistency.

Latham,

Klingbeil

2024

School Psychology

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“…Previous examinations of the literature focusing on a limited number of journals (e.g., <9; Hammond & Gast, 2010), a narrow publication range (e.g., 3 years, Tanious & Onghena, 2021), or collections of systematic reviews (Pustejovsky et al, 2023) may not provide a representative overview of studies. Examinations of research in special education suggest that journals dedicated to different populations (e.g., EBD) publish certain types of research (e.g., qualitative, SCD; King et al, 2023). Similar differences in the use of specific SCD could result in a differential ability to apply the D-CES.…”

Section: The Design-comparable Effect Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

“…More restrictive approaches to interpretation may winnow a higher number of SCD from consideration in research evaluations. The issue is likely to be of particular importance for certain subpopulations with whom SCD represents the majority of experimental studies, such as individuals with developmental disabilities or EBD (King et al, 2023). As SCD is commonly used in special education relative to other fields (e.g., school psychology, Radley et al, 2020), trends within the field may have implications for the interpretation of SCDs more broadly.…”

Section: Purposementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The orientation of specific journals was determined following an examination of their title, aims, and scope. A complete list of journals and journal categories appears in our previous research (King et al's, 2023;see Supplemental Materials S1).…”

Section: Journal Selectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although not developed solely to accommodate small populations, SCD is prevalent in fields such as special education, where difficulty in obtaining participants often precludes group design research (Wolery, 2013). Whereas group designs may provide insight into general population outcomes, SCDs reveal what is possible for specific individuals (King et al, 2023). SCD encompasses an array of arrangements (e.g., reversal, multiple-baseline designs; Ledford & Gast, 2018) and represents more than half of all experiments published in special education journals (King et al, 2023).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Examining the impact of design-comparable effect size on the analysis of single-case design in special education.

King,

Nylen,

Enders

et al. 2024

School Psychology

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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 designcomparable 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. This study examined the compatibility of single-case design studies appearing in 33 special education journals with the design-comparable effect sizes and related assumptions described by the What Works Clearinghouse. Of the 1,425 randomly selected single-case design articles published from 1999 to 2021, 59.88% did not satisfy assumptions related to design, number of participants, or treatment replications. The rejection rate varied based on journal emphasis, with publications dedicated to students with developmental disabilities losing the largest proportion of articles. A description of the results follows a discussion of the implications for the interpretation of the evidence base. Impact and ImplicationsA survey of a sample of articles in special education identified single-case designs published over a 22-year period. Analyses noted whether articles were compatible with the design-comparable effect size required in reviews of evidence of the What Works Clearinghouse. Results suggest that a large proportion of studies are eliminated for consideration, which can limit the extent to which scientific evidence can guide the selection of interventions for certain populations and influence research conducted in schools and other applied settings.

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Meta-Synthesis of Qualitative Studies

Hanline,

Eldridge,

Robbins

2024

Infants &Amp; Young Children

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The purpose of this meta-synthesis was to integrate findings from qualitative research studying the experiences and outcomes of children when they participate in inclusive early childhood (EC) classrooms. The goal was to promote a broader understanding of practices and outcomes in inclusive EC programs. Eight primary studies were included in the meta-synthesis. Evaluation of the eight qualitative studies indicated that all utilized methods to establish trustworthiness and ensure rigorous methodology for the type of data collected, indicating high-quality of the studies. Three themes resulted from the systematic coding of the results of the primary studies. These themes related to the outcomes of children’s access to and full participation in inclusive EC programs, the formation of positive relationships and friendships between the children with and without disabilities as a result of interactions over time, and the children’s autonomy in social interactions as reflected in when, how, and with whom the children chose to interact. The results support that EC inclusion can result in positive outcomes for children and should be expanded as a service delivery model. Implications for future research and the provision of services are discussed.

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Prevalence of Research Design in Special Education: A Survey of Peer-Reviewed Journals

Cited by 9 publications

References 55 publications

Effects of portable interventions on school psychologists’ graph-rating inconsistency.

Effects of portable interventions on school psychologists’ graph-rating inconsistency.

Examining the impact of design-comparable effect size on the analysis of single-case design in special education.

Meta-Synthesis of Qualitative Studies

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