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Explain why the staggered introduction of the therapy is crucial for this study. Based on the logic of a multiple-baseline design across participants, what alternative explanations does this staggering help the researcher rule out?
Case context: A clinical researcher evaluates a new behavioral therapy for three patients. She records baseline symptom levels for all three patients simultaneously. Then, she begins therapy with Patient 1 at the start of Week 3, Patient 2 at the start of Week 5, and Patient 3 at the start of Week 7. Symptom improvement is observed for each patient specifically after their individual therapy begins.
Question: Explain why the staggered introduction of the therapy is crucial for this study. Based on the logic of a multiple-baseline design across participants, what alternative explanations does this staggering help the researcher rule out?
Sample answer: The staggered introduction is crucial for establishing internal validity. Because each patient's symptoms only changed after the therapy was introduced to them specifically, it demonstrates that the treatment is the cause of the change. It makes it highly unlikely that the improvement was a coincidence or the result of a shared external event.
Key points:
- The staggered introduction is crucial for establishing internal validity.
- It demonstrates that the treatment is the cause of the change in the dependent variable.
- It rules out coincidence or a shared external event as the cause of the change.
Rubric: The response must explain that staggering establishes internal validity by demonstrating the treatment caused the change, which specifically rules out coincidence or shared external events.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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Multiple-Baseline Design Across Participants Example
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