ABA Exam CoachLessons · D. Experimental Design
D.6 · Reading single-case graphs critically
A big jump on a graph looks like proof that the treatment worked, but it often isn't. Let's learn to read single-case data like a careful analyst, starting with the part most people skip: the baseline.
Key takeaway
Judge the baseline first. If it's too short, too variable, or already trending in the therapeutic direction, you can't credit the change to the IV. Then look at level, trend, variability, immediacy, overlap, and consistency, and ask whether you have prediction, verification, and replication. A big change in level alone doesn't show experimental control.
Judge the baseline first. If it's too short, too variable, or already trending in the therapeutic direction, you can't credit the change to the IV. Then look at level, trend, variability, immediacy, overlap, and consistency, and ask whether you have prediction, verification, and replication. A big change in level alone doesn't show experimental control.
Members get the full lesson video, notes and a 5-question test
The video walks through the idea, worked examples, the trap people fall into and an exam-style question. The notes and the checkpoint come with it, and your results feed your Where to focus plan.