Single-subject research usually involves collecting data

on one subject at a time. Single-subject researchers

generally use line graphs to illustrate the effect of their
intervention.

Created by Del Siegle for EPSY 5601

del.siegle@uconn.edu
www.delsiegle.info
Suppose a researcher wished to investigate the effect of praise

Baseline Praise
Suppose a researcher wished to investigate the effect of praise on reducing disruptive
behavior

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
Suppose a researcher wished to investigate the effect of praise on reducing disruptive
behavior over many days.

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
Suppose a researcher wished to investigate the effect of praise on reducing disruptive
behavior over many days. First she would need to establish a baseline of how
frequently the disruptions occurred.

Baseline
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
Suppose a researcher wished to investigate the effect of praise on reducing disruptive
behavior over many days. First she would need to establish a baseline of how
frequently the disruptions occurred. She would measure how many disruptions
occurred each day

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
Suppose a researcher wished to investigate the effect of praise on reducing disruptive
behavior over many days. First she would need to establish a baseline of how
frequently the disruptions occurred. She would measure how many disruptions
occurred each day

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
Suppose a researcher wished to investigate the effect of praise on reducing disruptive
behavior over many days. First she would need to establish a baseline of how
frequently the disruptions occurred. She would measure how many disruptions
occurred each day

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
Suppose a researcher wished to investigate the effect of praise on reducing disruptive
behavior over many days. First she would need to establish a baseline of how
frequently the disruptions occurred. She would measure how many disruptions
occurred each day

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
Suppose a researcher wished to investigate the effect of praise on reducing disruptive
behavior over many days. First she would need to establish a baseline of how
frequently the disruptions occurred. She would measure how many disruptions
occurred each day

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
Suppose a researcher wished to investigate the effect of praise on reducing disruptive
behavior over many days. First she would need to establish a baseline of how
frequently the disruptions occurred. She would measure how many disruptions
occurred each day for several days.

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
Suppose a researcher wished to investigate the effect of praise on reducing disruptive
behavior over many days. First she would need to establish a baseline of how
frequently the disruptions occurred. She would measure how many disruptions
occurred each day for several days. In the example below, the target student was
disruptive seven times on the first day

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
Suppose a researcher wished to investigate the effect of praise on reducing disruptive
behavior over many days. First she would need to establish a baseline of how
frequently the disruptions occurred. She would measure how many disruptions
occurred each day for several days. In the example below, the target student was
disruptive seven times on the first day, six times on the second day

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
Suppose a researcher wished to investigate the effect of praise on reducing disruptive
behavior over many days. First she would need to establish a baseline of how
frequently the disruptions occurred. She would measure how many disruptions
occurred each day for several days. In the example below, the target student was
disruptive seven times on the first day, six times on the second day, and seven times
on the third day.

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
Once a baseline of behavior has been established (when a consistent pattern
emerges with at least three data points), the intervention begins.

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
Once a baseline of behavior has been established (when a consistent pattern
emerges with at least three data points), the intervention begins. The researcher
continues to plot the frequency of behavior

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
Once a baseline of behavior has been established (when a consistent pattern
emerges with at least three data points), the intervention begins. The researcher
continues to plot the frequency of behavior while implementing the intervention of
praise.

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
In this example, we can see that the frequency of disruptions decreased once praise
began.

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
In this example, we can see that the frequency of disruptions decreased once praise
began. The design in this example is known as an A-B design.

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
In this example, we can see that the frequency of disruptions decreased once praise
began. The design in this example is known as an A-B design. The baseline period is
referred to as A

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
In this example, we can see that the frequency of disruptions decreased once praise
began. The design in this example is known as an A-B design. The baseline period is
referred to as A and the intervention period is identified as B.

Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
In this example, we can see that the frequency of disruptions decreased once praise
began. The design in this example is known as an A-B design. The baseline period is
referred to as A and the intervention period is identified as B.

A B
Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
 Another design is the A-B-A design. An A-B-A design (also known as a reversal
design) involves discontinuing the intervention and returning to a baseline.

Baseline Praise Baseline

8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
 Another design is the A-B-A design. An A-B-A design (also known as a reversal
design) involves discontinuing the intervention and returning to a baseline.

A B A
Baseline Praise Baseline
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
 Sometimes an individual’s behavior is so severe that the researcher cannot wait
to establish a baseline and must begin with an intervention. In this case, a B-A-B
design is used. The intervention

Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
 Sometimes an individual’s behavior is so severe that the researcher cannot wait
to establish a baseline and must begin with an intervention. In this case, a B-A-B
design is used. The intervention is followed by a baseline

Praise Baseline
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
 Sometimes an individual’s behavior is so severe that the researcher cannot wait
to establish a baseline and must begin with an intervention. In this case, a B-A-B
design is used. The intervention is followed by a baseline followed by the
intervention.

Praise Baseline Praise

8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
 Sometimes an individual’s behavior is so severe that the researcher cannot wait
to establish a baseline and must begin with an intervention. In this case, a B-A-B
design is used. The intervention is followed by a baseline followed by the
intervention.

B A B
Praise Baseline Praise
8

7
Frequency of disruptions

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Day
 Regardless of the research design, the line graphs used to illustrate the data
contain a set of common elements.

Dependent measure Condition identifications Independent variable

Baseline Praise
8

7 Condition change line

Frequency of disruptions

3
Ordinate Data points
2 Data path

1 Abscissa

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Unit of time Day Measure of time
 Regardless of the research design, the line graphs used to illustrate the data
contain a set of common elements. Please read Chapter 14 in your text to learn
more about Single-Subject Research and other Single-Subject Research Designs.

Dependent measure Condition identifications Independent variable

Baseline Praise
8

7 Condition change line

Frequency of disruptions

3
Ordinate Data points
2 Data path

1 Abscissa

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Unit of time Day Measure of time