Burney Victoria, Arnold-Saritepe Angela, McCann Clare M
University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142 New Zealand.
Perspect Behav Sci. 2023 Jan 12;46(1):185-200. doi: 10.1007/s40614-022-00362-x. eCollection 2023 Mar.
Single-case design research is pervasive and dominant in the field of behavior analysis (BA). It allows for effective application of behavior change technologies in a wide variety of real-world settings. However, as the field has grown, behavioral scholars have suggested incorporating other methods into the investigator's toolbox to supplement single-case design. To date, the call to expand beyond using only variations of single-case design as the standard for behavior analytic research has gone largely unheard. Given the need for behavior analytic work to be more closely aligned with consumer and stakeholder needs and priorities, along with a proliferation of practitioners and researchers in the field, now is the time to consider the benefits of qualitative research methods for behavior analysts. In particular, in areas of social validity and in exploring diverse applied topics, qualitative methods may help the field of behavior analysis to achieve greater success with documenting the outcomes from behavior change interventions. The present article explores areas where behavior analysis may benefit from utilizing qualitative methods, namely social validity and breadth of topics for study, and provides examples of the value of qualitative research from other fields. A brief outline of qualitative research is provided alongside consideration of the seven dimensions of applied behavior analysis. In situations where single-case design does not offer behavior analysts sufficient methodological opportunity, qualitative research methods could form a powerful addition to the field of behavior analysis
单案例设计研究在行为分析（BA）领域普遍且占主导地位。它能让行为改变技术在各种现实世界环境中得到有效应用。然而，随着该领域的发展，行为学者建议将其他方法纳入研究者的工具箱，以补充单案例设计。迄今为止，呼吁超越仅使用单案例设计的变体作为行为分析研究标准的声音在很大程度上未被听取。鉴于行为分析工作需要更紧密地与消费者和利益相关者的需求及优先事项保持一致，同时该领域的从业者和研究人员不断增加，现在是时候考虑定性研究方法对行为分析师的益处了。特别是在社会效度领域以及探索多样的应用主题时，定性方法可能有助于行为分析领域在记录行为改变干预的结果方面取得更大成功。本文探讨了行为分析可能从利用定性方法中受益的领域，即社会效度和研究主题的广度，并提供了其他领域定性研究价值的示例。在考虑应用行为分析的七个维度的同时，还提供了定性研究的简要概述。在单案例设计无法为行为分析师提供足够方法学机会的情况下，定性研究方法可以成为行为分析领域的有力补充。
