Single-case research designs and the scientist-practitioner ideal in applied psychology.

Abstract

I acknowledge my profound debt to Murray Sidman and thank him and Rita Sidman for their many kindnesses. I also acknowledge my enduring gratitude to the academic staff of the

Clinically Significant Symptom Reduction in Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Treated with Micronutrients: An Open-Label Reversal Design Study

“…In terms of future directions, independent and systematic replications, preferably under double-blind conditions and with a placebo control, are required to establish the reliability and the generality of treatment effects. In addition, trialling different micronutrient ADHD AND MICRONUTRIENTS: AN ABABA OPEN-LABEL PILOT STUDY formulations, in a variety of treatment settings, and across the full range of manifestations of ADHD across the life span and alongside other related disorders (Chambless and Hollon 1998;Blampied 2013;Dallery et al 2013) are important future directions. Clinical replication will be required to establish the generality of micronutrient treatment in combination with other treatments, such as behavioral or cognitive-behavioral therapies, for the full range of ADHD presentations across the life span.…”

What evidence is there that parenting interventions reduce child abuse and neglect among maltreating families? A systematic review

“…A full description of the limitations of the use of RCTs for this population is beyond the scope of this article. However, the use of group averages as the prime focus of analysis in RCTs may not be sufficient to identify mechanisms for change or characteristics of people for whom positive change occurs (and those for whom it does not, or does harm; Blampied, 2013; Kravitz, Duan, & Braslow, 2004). An alternative strategy is to estimate effectiveness from rates of meaningful change within RCTs—namely comparing the proportions of treatment and control groups that respectively manifest meaningful improvement, versus meaningful deterioration, versus no meaningful change (Tarren-Sweeney, 2013b).…”

“…The most significant advantage is the ease with which novel or innovative approaches in interventions can be trialed. The use of single-case design takes advantage of this, meaning that clinicians with a scientist-practitioner orientation could contribute to the accumulation of a body of knowledge in this field (Blampied, 2013). Replication of intervention approaches is likewise feasible in single-case designs and can be built into a single, iterative study.…”

Optimizing behavioral health interventions with single-case designs: from development to dissemination

“…Also, as just described, they can address which of two treatments work better, whether adding two treatments (or components) together works better than either one alone, which level of treatment is optimal (i.e., a parametric analysis), and whether a client prefers one treatment over another (i.e., via social validity assessment). Furthermore, the use of SCDs in practice conforms to the scientist-practitioner ideal espoused by training models in clinical psychology and allied disciplines [78].…”