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Intra-individual measures of association in neuropsychology: Inferential methods for comparing a single case with a control or normative sample

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2004

JOHN R. CRAWFORD ,
PAUL H. GARTHWAITE ,
DAVID C. HOWELL  and
ANNALENA VENNERI
JOHN R. CRAWFORD
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, King's College, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
PAUL H. GARTHWAITE
Affiliation:
Department of Statistics, The Open University, UK
DAVID C. HOWELL
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Vermont, Burlington
ANNALENA VENNERI
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, King's College, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
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Abstract

Performance on some neuropsychological tests is best expressed as an intra-individual measure of association (such as a parametric or non-parametric correlation coefficient or the slope of a regression line). Examples of the use of intra-individual measures of association (IIMAs) include the quantification of performance on tests designed to assess temporal order memory or the accuracy of time estimation. The present paper presents methods for comparing a patient's performance with a control or normative sample when performance is expressed as an IIMA. The methods test if there is a significant difference between a patient's IIMA and those obtained from controls, yield an estimate of the abnormality of the patient's IIMA, and provide confidence limits on the level of abnormality. The methods can be used with normative or control samples of any size and will therefore be of particular relevance to single-case researchers. A method for comparing the difference between a patient's scores on two measures with the differences observed in controls is also described (one or both measures can be IIMAs). All the methods require only summary statistics (rather than the raw data from the normative or control sample); it is hoped that this feature will encourage the development of norms for tasks that use IIMAs to quantify performance. Worked examples of the statistical methods are provided using data from a clinical case and controls. A computer program (for PCs) that implements the methods is described and made available. (JINS, 2003, 9, 989–1000.)

Keywords

Single-case methodsStatistical methodsIIMA
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society , Volume 9 , Issue 7 , November 2003 , pp. 989 - 1000
Copyright
© 2003 The International Neuropsychological Society

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