1st Edition
Single Case Methods in Clinical Psychology A Practical Guide
Single-Case Methods in Clinical Psychology: A Practical Guide provides a concise and easily-accessible introduction to single-case research. This is a timely response to the increasing awareness of the need to look beyond randomised controlled trials for evidence to support best practice in applied psychology. The book covers the issues of design, the reliability and validity of measurement, and provides guidance on how to analyse single-case data using both visual and statistical methods.
Single-case designs can be used to investigate an individual’s response to psychological intervention, as well as to contribute to larger scale research projects. This book illuminates the common principles behind these uses. It describes how standardised measures can be used to evaluate change in an individual and how to develop idiographic measures that are tailored to the needs of an individual. The issue of replication and generalising beyond an individual are examined, and the book also includes a section on the meta-analysis of single-case data. The critical evaluation of single-case research is examined, from both the perspective of developing quality standards to evaluate research and maintaining a critical distance in reviewing one’s own work.
Single Case Methods in Clinical Psychology will provide invaluable guidance to postgraduate psychologists training to enter the professions of clinical, health and counselling psychology and is likely to become a core text on many courses. It will also appeal to clinicians seeking to answer questions about the effectiveness of therapy in individual cases and who wish to use the method to further the evidence-base for specific psychological interventions.
Contents
Chapter 1 Why single case research?
Chapter 2 Standardised measures and what you can do with them
Chapter 3 Target measures: unique measures for the individual
Chapter 4 Designing single-case experiments
Chapter 5 Visual analysis of single-case data
Chapter 6 Statistical analysis of single-case data
Chapter 7 Replication, replication, replication
Chapter 8 Critical evaluation of single case research Stephen Morley with Ciara Masterson
Afterword Chris Main and Ciara Masterson
Biography
Stephen Morley (1950-2017) was Professor of Clinical Psychology and former director of the clinical psychology training programme at the University of Leeds. He was best known for his research work on pain, for which we was awarded honorary membership of the International Association for the Study of Pain in 2016. He taught generations of trainee clinical psychologists, delivered many workshops and wrote several book chapters on the topic of single case methods.
Ciara Masterson is a Lecturer in Clinical Psychology at the University of Leeds.
Chris J. Main is an Emeritus Professor of Clinical Psychology at Keele University
"This is a unique and important book, and one of the most comprehensive manuals for conducting replicated single-case experiments to date. The book is invaluable for all curious clinicians and scientist practitioners who wish to improve the quality of care in an evidence-based way. It provides not only the theoretical background of the "one person trial", but also elegantly provides building blocks needed to plan, conduct and analyse person-focused single-case experimental designs in a clear and thoughtful manner."
Johan W.S. Vlaeyen, Professor of Behavioral Medicine, Chair of Health Psychology Research, University of Leuven, Belgium, and Maastricht University, Netherlands."This impressive textbook distils Professor Morley’s lifetime expertise into a single, easily accessible resource – an essential read for trainees and professionals in clinical psychology and related fields."
Chris Barker, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University College London.
"This superb book is a must-read for all applied psychologists and students. In it, Stephen Morley successfully integrates methodology and purpose in Single Case Design (SCD) with deceptive ease. Its clarity and focus makes this book the definitive work for single case studies and single case experimental design. It clearly captures the essence and value of SCD in both clinical and research contexts in a highly readable way, and will be the definitive text in the field. This book successfully re-invigorates our understanding of a crucial research tool in psychology."
Paul Salkovskis, Professor of Clinical Psychology and Applied Science, University of Bath.
