aba-literature-review

name	aba-literature-review
description	Use when conducting systematic literature reviews of behavior analytic research, building search strategies, evaluating single-subject study quality, and synthesizing findings across ABA studies.

ABA Literature Review

Conducting rigorous literature reviews in behavior analysis requires knowledge of the field's unique publication landscape, single-subject design methodology, and specialized synthesis methods. This skill covers the complete process from search to synthesis.

Key ABA Journals

Tier 1: Core Behavior Analytic Journals

Journal	Abbreviation	Focus	Impact
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis	JABA	Applied research, all populations	Flagship applied journal
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior	JEAB	Basic research, animal and human	Foundational experimental work
Behavior Analysis in Practice	BAP	Practitioner-focused, applied	Shorter format, practice-relevant
The Analysis of Verbal Behavior	TAVB	Verbal behavior research	Skinnerian language analysis

Tier 2: Related Applied Journals

Journal	Focus
Behavioral Interventions	International ABA research
Journal of Behavioral Education	ABA in educational settings
Journal of Organizational Behavior Management	OBM research
Behavior Modification	Applied behavior change
Research in Developmental Disabilities	Developmental disability research broadly
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders	Autism-specific research
Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders	Multidisciplinary autism research

Tier 3: Broader Related Journals

• Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions
• Education and Treatment of Children
• Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities
• Journal of Early Intervention

Databases

Database	Strengths for ABA	Access
PubMed	Medical and clinical ABA research, MeSH indexing	Free
PsycINFO	Psychology and behavior analysis, controlled vocabulary	Institutional
ERIC	Educational applications of ABA	Free
Web of Science	Citation tracking, impact metrics	Institutional
Scopus	Broad coverage, citation analysis	Institutional
Google Scholar	Broadest coverage, pre-prints, gray literature	Free

Building Search Strategies

PICO Framework Adapted for Single-Subject Research

Component	Standard PICO	Adapted for ABA
P (Population)	Patient population	Participant characteristics (age, diagnosis, setting)
I (Intervention)	Treatment	Independent variable (specific ABA procedure)
C (Comparison)	Comparator	Baseline, alternative treatment, control condition
O (Outcome)	Outcome measure	Dependent variable (behavior, skill, performance)

Example Search

Research question: "What is the evidence for functional communication training (FCT) in reducing aggression in children with autism?"

• P: (child* OR pediatric OR "autism spectrum disorder" OR ASD)
• I: ("functional communication training" OR FCT)
• C: (baseline OR "treatment as usual" OR "differential reinforcement")
• O: (aggression OR "problem behavior" OR "challenging behavior")

Boolean Operators

• AND: Narrows results. All terms must be present.
• OR: Broadens results. Any term can be present. Use for synonyms.
• NOT: Excludes terms. Use sparingly to avoid losing relevant results.
• Quotation marks: Exact phrase search.
• Asterisk (*): Truncation/wildcard. "reinforce*" captures reinforcement, reinforcer, reinforcers.

Search Tips

• Start broad, then narrow.
• Search multiple databases—no single database captures all ABA literature.
• Check reference lists of key articles (backward chaining).
• Check "cited by" for key articles (forward chaining).
• Set up alerts for new publications matching your search terms.

Screening and Selecting Studies

Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria

Define before screening:

• Population: Age range, diagnosis, setting.
• Intervention: Must be the specific procedure of interest.
• Design: Single-subject experimental designs (exclude case studies, AB-only designs without replication).
• Outcome: Must measure the behavior of interest.
• Publication type: Peer-reviewed journal articles (exclude dissertations, conference presentations unless conducting a comprehensive review).

Screening Process

1. Title/abstract screen: Quick pass to exclude obviously irrelevant articles.
2. Full-text review: Read remaining articles fully against inclusion criteria.
3. Decision documentation: Record reasons for exclusion.
4. PRISMA flowchart: Document the number of articles at each stage. Use PRISMA for single-case extensions where available.

Evaluating Single-Subject Research Quality

What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Standards for Single-Case Designs

• Minimum of 3 data points per phase.
• Minimum of 3 demonstrations of effect (replications).
• Experimental design that allows at least one demonstration of effect.

Quality Indicators (Horner et al., 2005)

• Participants and setting: Described with sufficient detail for replication.
• Dependent variable: Operationally defined, measured repeatedly, IOA reported.
• Independent variable: Described with replication precision, fidelity measured.
• Baseline: Stable, predictable pattern established before intervention.
• Experimental control: At least 3 demonstrations of effect at 3 different time points.
• Social validity: Clinical or social significance addressed.
• External validity: Replicated across participants, settings, or behaviors.

Synthesizing Findings

Narrative Synthesis

• Organize findings by theme, population, intervention variant, or outcome.
• Describe the range of effects observed across studies.
• Note moderating variables: what conditions produce stronger or weaker effects?
• Identify gaps in the literature.
• Summarize the strength of evidence using a system (e.g., strong, moderate, limited, insufficient).

Quantitative Synthesis for Single-Subject Research

• PND (Percentage of Non-overlapping Data): Simple but limited. Sensitive to outliers.
• PEM (Percentage Exceeding the Median): More robust than PND.
• Tau-U: Controls for baseline trend. Provides a p-value.
• Hedges' g or standardized mean difference: Used in some meta-analyses but requires assumptions about distributional properties.
• Bayesian methods: Emerging approaches for single-subject meta-analysis.

Effect Size Interpretation

Metric	Small	Medium	Large
PND	<50%	50–70%	>70%
Tau-U	0–0.20	0.20–0.60	0.60–1.00

Writing the Literature Review Section

Structure

1. Introduction: State the purpose and scope of the review.
2. Search methodology: Databases, search terms, inclusion/exclusion criteria.
3. Results: Organized thematically or chronologically. Summarize key findings.
4. Discussion: Strength of evidence, gaps, directions for future research.

Writing Tips

• Use past tense for describing what studies found.
• Attribute findings to specific studies: "Smith et al. (2020) demonstrated that..."
• Avoid over-generalizing from small numbers of studies.
• Explicitly state the limitations of the reviewed literature.
• Connect the review to the clinical or research question that motivated it.

Key References

• Horner, R. H., Carr, E. G., Halle, J., McGee, G., Odom, S., & Wolery, M. (2005). The use of single-subject research to identify evidence-based practice in special education. Exceptional Children, 71, 165–179.
• Kratochwill, T. R., et al. (2010). Single-case designs technical documentation. What Works Clearinghouse.
• Parker, R. I., Vannest, K. J., Davis, J. L., & Sauber, S. B. (2011). Combining nonoverlap and trend for single-case research: Tau-U. Behavior Therapy, 42, 284–299.
• Moher, D., et al. (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. PLoS Medicine, 6, e1000097.