Methodological observations on applied behavioral science.

Abstract

Policy makers and administrators have become frustrated with single-subject designs because these designs appear unable, at first blush, to provide them with essential information that they can use in planning or change at the organizational or institutional level of management. Practitioners have become frustrated with prior exclusive reliance on traditional group experimental designs because they fail to provide useful information for conducting therapy or delivering services. The following article by Professor Gingerich makes a large and important contribution toward mitigating these two apparently divergent needs. Gingerich describes how meta-analysis can provide useful information for managers through aggregations of data obtained from single-subject, time-series designs. The article also discusses the use of meta-analysis of time-series data as a basis for improving the quality of scientific investigations.