Goals and Objectives

Upon successfully completing this course, students should be able to meet these goals and objectives.

Goal 1: Know the distinguishing features of a natural science view of behavior.
Objective 1.1: State how single-subject research is usually (a) applied, (b) behavioral, (c) analytic, (d) technological, (e) conceptual, (f) effective, and (g) capable of producing results that are generalizable;
Objective 1.2: List and describe three features of a behavioral approach to research that distinguish it from other approaches to studying human behavior;
Objective 1.3: List common dependent and independent variables in single-subject analyses.

Goal 2: Know research questions for a behavioral science.
Objective 2.1: Identify the research questions addressed in reports of studies;
Objective 2.2: State whether and why a given question is appropriate for study via a single-subject approach;
Objective 2.3: Write research questions appropriate for behavioral analyses.

Goal 3: Know the measurement procedures of single-subject research.
Objective 3.1: Identify the recording procedures used in written reports of studies;
Objective 3.2: List major recording procedures, giving advantages and disadvantages of each;
Objective 3.3: Identify appropriate recording procedures for particular dependent variables;
Objective 3.4: Identify the procedures used to assess interobserver agreement in written reports of studies;
Objective 3.5: List and describe procedures for calculating interobserver agreement for each of the major recording procedures;
Objective 3.6: Select recording procedures and means of assessing interobserver agreement appropriate for given research questions.
Objective 3.7: Describe steps researchers should take to protect against threats to the trustworthiness of their data.

Goal 4: Know behavioral research designs.
Objective 4.1: Identify the research designs used in written reports of studies;
Objective 4.2: List and give examples of each of the major designs and their principal variants;
Objective 4.3: State how each design establishes a functional relationship;
Objective 4.4: Describe the strengths and weaknesses of each of the major designs;
Objective 4.5: Select designs appropriate for addressing given research questions.

Goal 5: Know the external validity limitations of single-subject research.
Objective 5.1: Identify prior and subsequent published studies on a topic addressed in a given study;
Objective 5.2: Describe procedures for establishing direct and systematic replications;
Objective 5.3: Describe procedures for establishing social validity;
Objective 5.4: Describe and apply criteria for evaluating the presence of treatment effects;
Objective 5.5: Discuss the arguments for and against the use of statistical analyses of single-subject data,
Objective 5.6: Identify statistical procedures appropriate for behavioral analyses;
Objective 5.7: Identify appropriate subsequent studies based on hypothetical outcomes.

Goal 6: Know how to evaluate and report single-subject research.
Objective 6.1: Identify and discuss critically the research features (e.g., dependent variables) of examples of single-subject research;
Objective 6.2: Describe the essential features of a single-subject study.