In addition to entering information about the characteristics of the behavior and how it responds to treatment, you will need to specify some basic information about the design of the single-case study you plan to conduct. Currently, two different study designs are supported: multiple baseline designs and treatment reversal designs. Select the design that you want to simulate from the options in the first input box in column 2 of the simulator. The required further information depends on which option you select.
Treatment reversal designs begin with a baseline phase, followed by a treatment phase. In designs with more than one AB pair, this process is repeated---sometimes several times---where each repetition entails removing the treatment that was in place (a return to baseline) and then re-introducing it. This within-case replication provides multiple opportunities to test the functional relationship between the treatment and the outcome. The most common and well-known type of treatment reversal is the ABAB design, which provides three opportunities to demonstrate the functional relationship.
To simulate a treatment reversal design, you will need to specify three further pieces of information:
In contrast to treatment reversal designs, multiple baseline designs use cross-case replication in order to test the relationship between the treatment and the outcome, with each case providing one opportunity to demonstrate a functional relationship. The study begins by measuring each case in a baseline phase. The treatment is then introduced to each case, but the point of introduction is staggered so that not every case changes phases at the same time. Staggering the introduction of treatment allows the researcher to control for other common influences on the set of cases, which might be confounded with the introduction of the treatment if all cases entered treatment simultaneously.
To simulate a multiple baseline design, you will need to specify three further pieces of information:
Currently, the ARPsimulator only provides options for the treatment reversal and multiple baseline designs. However, an alternating treatment design could be simulated by choosing the treatment reversal design and setting the number of sessions per phase to be one. (Of course, this approach does not allow you to randomize the order of treatments, as is sometimes done in alternating treatment designs.) Other types of designs, such as changing criterion designs or hybrid/complex designs, are not currently supported because they would introduce a number of additional complexities into the model. Feel free to contact me if you have suggestions for additional design features.
Any scripts or data that you put into this service are public.
Add the following code to your website.
For more information on customizing the embed code, read Embedding Snippets.