Applied Behavior Analysis

Behavior analysts recognize the advantages of single-subject design for establishing intervention efficacy.  Much of the research performed by behavior analysts will use SSRD methods.

When you need to find SSRD articles, there are two methods you can use:

The Browsing Method -- looking at the Table of Contents of journals which publish ABA research

The Searching Method -- using a library database to search on key search terms, including a list of different SSRD methods

Browsing journals to find articles carried out using single subject research design works best when you don't have a specific research topic in mind, and your mindset is one of "seeing what's out there."

To browse:

1. Click on a title from the list of ABA Journal Titles.
2. Scroll down on the resulting page to the View Online section.
3. Choose a link which includes the date range you're interested in.
4. Click on a link to an issue (date) you want to explore.
5. From the resulting Table of Contents, explore titles of interest, reading the abstract carefully for signs that the research was carried out using a SSRD.  (To help, look for the box on this page with a list of SSRD types.)

To search for SSRDs using keywords or phrases, follow the steps here, consulting the sample screen shots.  (Look below for the reason why this works.)

First, go to APA PsycInfo.

Second, copy and paste this set of terms describing different types of SSRDs into an APA PsycInfo search box, and choose "Abstract" in the drop-down menu.

"reversal design" OR "withdrawal design" OR "ABAB design" OR "A-B-A-B design"  OR "ABC design" OR "A-B-C design" OR "ABA design" OR "A-B-A design" OR "multiple baseline" OR "alternating treatments design" OR "multi-element design" OR "multielement design" OR "changing criterion design" OR "single case design" OR "single subject design" OR "single case series" 

Third, copy and paste this list of ABA journals into another search box in APA PsycInfo, and choose "SO Publication Name" in the drop-down menu.

"Analysis of Verbal Behavior" OR "Autism" OR "Behavior Analysis in Practice" OR "The Behavior Analyst" OR "Behavior Modification" OR "Behavior Therapy" OR "Behavioral Interventions" OR "Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities" OR "Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities" OR "International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy" OR "Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis" OR "Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities" OR "Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders" OR "Journal of Intellectual Disability Research" OR "Journal of Organizational Behavior Management" OR "Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions" OR "Journal of Special Education" OR "Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior" OR "Remedial and Special Education" OR "Research in Developmental Disabilities" OR "Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders" 

Fourth, type in some keywords in another APA PsycInfo search box (or two) describing what you're researching.  Use OR and add synonyms or related words for the best results.

Hit SEARCH, and see what kind of results you get!

Here's an example of a search for SSRDs in ABA journals on the topic of fitness:

Note that the long list of terms in the top two boxes gets cut off in the screenshot - - but they're all there!

The reason this works:

• To find SSRD articles, we can't just search on the phrase "single subject research" because many studies which use SSRD do not include that phrase anywhere in the text of the article; instead such articles typically specify in the abstract (and "Methods" section) what type of SSRD method was used (ex. withdrawal design, multiple baseline, or ABA design).  That's why we string together all the possible descriptions of SSRD types with the word OR in between -- it enables us to search for any sort of SSRD, regardless of how it's described.  Choosing "Abstract" in the drop-down menu ensures that we're focusing on these terms being used in the abstract field (not just popping up in discussion in the full-text).
• To search specifically for studies carried out in the field of Applied Behavior Analysis, we enter in the titles of the ABA journals, strung together, with OR in between.  The quotation marks ensure each title is searched as a phrase.  Choosing "SO Publication Name" in the drop-down menu ensures that results will be from articles published in those journals (not just references to those journals).
• To limit the search to a topic we're interested in, we type in some keywords in another search box.  The more synonyms you can think of, the better; that ensures you'll have a decent pool of records to look through, including authors who may have described your topic differently.

Search ideas:

To limit your search to just the top ABA journals, you can use this shorter list in place of the long one above:

"Behavior Analysis in Practice" OR "Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis" OR "Journal of Behavioral Education" OR "Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities" OR "Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior"

To get more specific, topic-wise, add another search box with another term (or set of terms), like in this example:

To search more broadly and include other psychology studies outside of ABA journals, simply remove the list of journal titles from the search, as shown here: