A Systematic Review of Single Case Research Design Graph Construction in Counseling

A review of counseling research using single‐case research design

“…These data indicate an increased use of this methodology in recent years when compared to previous literature, but Brown et al (2023b) exclusively reported information on graph characteristics, leaving unanswered questions related to the content, quality, and reporting of SCRDs. Therefore, due to the limited studies gathered from Woo et al (2016) and the recent increase in SCRD studies in counseling (Brown et al, 2023b), the purpose of this article was to evaluate trends among SCRD counseling literature. Specifically, we aimed to evaluate the design, methodology, and reporting of SCRD counseling publications.…”

“…In 2023, Brown et al performed a systematic review exclusively focused on the characteristics of time series graphs published in counseling SCRDs; they identified 50 publications across counseling-related journals from 2015 to 2021. These data indicate an increased use of this methodology in recent years when compared to previous literature, but Brown et al (2023b) exclusively reported information on graph characteristics, leaving unanswered questions related to the content, quality, and reporting of SCRDs. Therefore, due to the limited studies gathered from Woo et al (2016) and the recent increase in SCRD studies in counseling (Brown et al, 2023b), the purpose of this article was to evaluate trends among SCRD counseling literature.…”

“…As SCRD research has proliferated, several ideas have been considered to increase the rigor and credibility of the design. These include but are not limited to the (a) selection of the appropriate SCRD design (Maggin et al, 2022); development of formatting and reporting standards (Kratochwill et al, 2021;Tate et al, 2016); refining and defining proper data analysis procedures (Manolov et al, 2022); and time-series graph and figure construction (Brown et al, 2023a;Brown et al, 2023b;Kubina et al, 2017Kubina et al, , 2021Ledford et al, 2019;Peltier, McKenna, et al, 2022;Peltier, Muharib, et al, 2022). Although standards for addressing these concerns are being developed, there is a need to contextualize these guidance documents for counseling researchers using SCRD.…”

“…Future research using SCRD methodology would be improved by considering the following articles for methodological graph guidelines (Brown et al, 2023a(Brown et al, , 2023b. Future research may consider assessing quality indicators (Horner et al, 2005) and reporting standards of counseling SCRD literature according to WWC and SCRIBE (Tate et al, 2016) since the publication of articles occurred between the time of the original publication and updated revisions.…”

“…Since its publication, counseling literature has been limited in assessing SCRD methodological practices, quality indicators, and reporting standards. Recently, Brown et al (2023b) assessed the construction of time series graphs in counseling SCRDs and provided methodological guidance on how to construct graphs to enhance the readability and interpretability and support accurate conclusions. Yet, this only focused on graph construction; it is necessary to examine other elements of SCRD in counseling research to provide additional guidance to inform research and practice.…”