No Randomization? No Problem Experimental Control and Random Assignment in Single Case Research

Randomization of large number of participants to different treatment groups is often not a feasible or preferable way to answer questions of immediate interest to professional practice. Single case designs (SCDs) are a class of research designs that are experimental in nature but require only a few...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe American journal of evaluation Vol. 39; no. 1; pp. 71 - 90
Main Author Ledford, Jennifer R.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.03.2018
Subjects
Comparative Analysis
Control Groups
Experimental Groups
Intervention
Randomized Controlled Trials
Research Design
Validity
internal validity
visual analysis
randomization
single case design
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Summary:Randomization of large number of participants to different treatment groups is often not a feasible or preferable way to answer questions of immediate interest to professional practice. Single case designs (SCDs) are a class of research designs that are experimental in nature but require only a few participants, all of whom receive the treatment(s) of interest. SCDs are particularly relevant when a dependent variable of interest can be measured repeatedly over time across two conditions (e.g., baseline and intervention). Rather than using randomization of large numbers of participants, SCD researchers use careful and prescribed ordering of experimental conditions, which allow researchers to improve internal validity by ruling out alternative explanations for behavior change. This article describes SCD logic, control of threats to internal validity, the use of randomization and counterbalancing, and data analysis in the context of single case research.
ISSN:1098-2140
1557-0878
DOI:10.1177/1098214017723110