Posted: June 14th, 2023

The use of single-subject designs in social work research

Overview

By successfully completing this assignment, you demonstrate your proficiency in the following competency and specialized behaviors:

Competency 4: Engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice.
C4.SP.A: Apply leadership skills, decision making, and the use of technology to inform evidence-based research practice to develop, implement, evaluate, and communicate interventions across the specialization of advanced generalist practice settings.
Related Assignment Criterion:

1: Critique single-subject designs.
C4.SP.B: Apply leadership skills, decision making, and the use of technology to inform program evaluation to develop, implement, evaluate, and communicate interventions across the specialization of advanced generalist practice settings.
Related Assignment Criterion:

2: Apply critical thinking in verbal and written communication through the use of leadership and technology.
Assignment Description
After reading Whitfield’s 1999 article, “Validating School Social Work,” you will answer a series of questions aimed at critiquing single subject designs.

Assignment Instructions
Read Whitfield’s 1999 article, “Validating School Social Work: An Evaluation of a Cognitive-Behavioral Approach to Reduce School Violence,” and answer the following questions in an APA-formatted document:

What was the purpose of this study?
What was the sample?
What dependent variables were studied? How were the dependent variables operationalized?
Why was a single-subject design used? What are the strengths of a single-subject design?
What were the key findings (the results of the data analysis)?
How would you critique the findings? What are limitations of a single-subject design?

Sources:

Whitfield, K. C. (1999). Validating school social work: An evaluation of a cognitive-behavioral approach to reduce school violence. Social Work Research, 23(2), 73-81.

Kratochwill, T. R., Hitchcock, J., Horner, R. H., Levin, J. R., Odom, S. L., Rindskopf, D. M., & Shadish, W. R. (2010). Single-case designs technical documentation. What Works Clearinghouse.

Kazdin, A. E. (2011). Single-case research designs: Methods for clinical and applied settings. Oxford University Press.

Introduction

The use of single-subject designs in social work research has gained popularity in recent years due to their practicality and effectiveness. This paper aims to critique the single-subject design used in Whitfield’s

(1999) study, “Validating School Social Work: An Evaluation of a Cognitive-Behavioral Approach to Reduce School Violence,” by addressing the following questions:

What was the purpose of this study?
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral approach in reducing school violence, specifically physical and verbal aggression, among middle school students.

What was the sample?
The sample consisted of 14 middle school students who were identified by their teachers as displaying physical or verbal aggression in the classroom.

What dependent variables were studied? How were the dependent variables operationalized?
The dependent variables studied were physical and verbal aggression among middle school students. Physical aggression was operationalized by observing the frequency of hitting, pushing, and kicking, while verbal aggression was operationalized by observing the frequency of insulting, threatening, and cursing.

Why was a single-subject design used? What are the strengths of a single-subject design?
A single-subject design was used because it allows for the observation of individual change over time, and it is especially useful for studying interventions that have a limited number of participants. The strengths of a single-subject design include the ability to study rare behaviors or interventions, control extraneous variables, and provide detailed data on individual change.

What were the key findings (the results of the data analysis)?
The data analysis showed that the cognitive-behavioral approach was effective in reducing both physical and verbal aggression among middle school students. The reduction in physical aggression was statistically significant, while the reduction in verbal aggression was not.

How would you critique the findings? What are the limitations of a single-subject design?
One limitation of a single-subject design is the lack of generalizability to a larger population. In this study, the sample size was small and may not be representative of all middle school students. Additionally, the study lacked a control group, which makes it difficult to determine the extent to which the cognitive-behavioral approach was responsible for the reduction in aggression. However, the study’s strengths include the use of multiple measures of aggression and the detailed observation of individual change over time.

Sources:

Whitfield, K. C. (1999). Validating school social work: An evaluation of a cognitive-behavioral approach to reduce school violence. Social Work Research, 23(2), 73-81.

Kratochwill, T. R., Hitchcock, J., Horner, R. H., Levin, J. R., Odom, S. L., Rindskopf, D. M., & Shadish, W. R. (2010). Single-case designs technical documentation. What Works Clearinghouse.

Kazdin, A. E. (2011). Single-case research designs: Methods for clinical and applied settings. Oxford University Press.