Connell P J, Thompson C K
J Speech Hear Disord. 1986 Aug;51(3):214-25. doi: 10.1044/jshd.5103.214.
The purpose of this paper is to present clinical researchers with viable alternatives to basic, prototypical single-subject experimental designs. The availability of these alternatives is a product of the flexibility inherent in the application of these designs. Two general types of flexibility are discussed: a priori flexibility, as in combining designs in one study and ad hoc flexibility in which a design is modified during the course of a study. The flexibility afforded by the designs provides the opportunity to fashion individual experimental designs for specific research problems addressed. A review of the clinical research literature published during the last 10 years revealed that the flexibility of these designs has been underutilized. The benefits that can derive from using the potential flexibility of the designs are described, and specific suggestions are made for incorporating flexibility into clinical research.
本文旨在为临床研究人员提供一些可行的替代方案，以取代基础的、典型的单受试者实验设计。这些替代方案的出现是这些设计应用中固有灵活性的产物。文中讨论了两种一般类型的灵活性：先验灵活性，比如在一项研究中组合多种设计；以及临时灵活性，即在研究过程中对设计进行修改。这些设计所提供的灵活性为针对特定研究问题构建个性化实验设计提供了机会。对过去10年发表的临床研究文献的回顾表明，这些设计的灵活性未得到充分利用。文中描述了利用这些设计潜在灵活性可能带来的益处，并就如何将灵活性纳入临床研究提出了具体建议。
