Addressing new health psychology research questions using idiographic methods

Abstract

Background: Idiographic methods (n-of-1) like Time Series Analysis (TSA) focus on time-dependent variation within single subjects or units. Idiographic Methods can address research questions that nomothetic, or group-level methods, cannot. However, both content researchers and methodologists often focus on the types of research questions and the interpretation of results that reflect the focus of nomothetic methods. Methods: This paper will describe five alternative areas of research. (a) TSA provides an estimate of the auto-correlation and autocorrelations can answer important questions about the dependent variable generating function. (b) Ignoring the autocorrelation structure can result in inaccurate tests of significance and effect size estimates. (c) TSA can provide critical information about the pattern of change over time. (d) Each person or unit represents a separate study which shifts the focus to replication across units. (e) The focus of generalization is to other contexts or occasions rather than to general populations. Findings: Published examples will be provided that illustrate each of the five areas. Discussion: Idiographic methods can address new research questions and return the focus to the individual rather than the group.