Performance Evaluation: Proven Approaches for Improving Program and Organizational Performance

TIME-SERIES STUDIES

While traditional experimental research has been quite successfully applied in the natural sciences, time-series designs are considered more useful for many social scientists, including economists and applied behavior analysts (Brethower, 2006). By some accounts, a well-executed time-series design could be even more powerful than a classic experimental design (Brethower, 2006; Campbell, Stanley, & Gage, 1966).

A simple time series consists of the collection of quantitative observations at regular intervals through repeated measurements. Brethower (2006) summarizes four variations of this design:

• The AB design: Measure what is happening now (A), do something (B), and measure what happens as a result.
• Repeated AB design: Do ...