Compare methods

	Changing Criterion Design	Goal Attainment Scaling
Field	Disability Studies	Social Work
Family	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
Year of origin	2013	1968
Originator	Single-case methodology tradition; design standards by Kratochwill et al.	Thomas J. Kiresuk & Robert E. Sherman
Type	Within-subject experimental pipeline for shaping behavior toward a goal in graded steps	Individualized, criterion-referenced outcome measurement procedure
Seminal source	Kratochwill, T. R., Hitchcock, J. H., Horner, R. H., Levin, J. R., Odom, S. L., Rindskopf, D. M., & Shadish, W. R. (2013). Single-case intervention research design standards. Remedial and Special Education, 34(1), 26-38.	Kiresuk, T. J., & Sherman, R. E. (1968). Goal attainment scaling: A general method for evaluating comprehensive community mental health programs. Community Mental Health Journal, 4(6), 443–453.
Aliases	Changing-Criterion Single-Case Design, Stepwise Criterion Design, Shaping-Verification Design, CCD	GAS, Goal Attainment Scale, Kiresuk-Sherman Goal Attainment Scaling, Individualized Goal Scaling
Related	3	3
Summary	The changing criterion design (CCD) is a single-case experimental method in which a behavior is gradually shaped toward a terminal goal through a series of stepwise performance criteria. Instead of expecting a behavior to leap from baseline to its final target, the analyst sets an initial subgoal, reinforces performance that meets it, and then ratchets the criterion up (or down) once behavior stabilizes at each step. Experimental control is demonstrated when the behavior repeatedly and closely tracks each successive criterion change — changing only when, and to the degree that, the criterion changes — so that each new step functions as another demonstration of effect. The design is especially well suited to behaviors that should change incrementally, such as increasing exercise tolerance, reducing cigarettes smoked, or building a new skill in graded approximations. It belongs to the single-case design family codified by Kratochwill and colleagues in 2013, sharing their requirements for systematic manipulation and replicated demonstrations of effect.	Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) is a method for measuring the outcomes of an individualized intervention by writing, in advance, a small set of client-specific goals and defining for each a graded scale of possible outcomes from much worse than expected to much better than expected. After the intervention, the actual outcome on each goal is scored on this scale and the scores are combined into a single standardized index, allowing idiosyncratic, personally meaningful goals to be aggregated and compared across clients and programs. It was introduced by Thomas Kiresuk and Robert Sherman in 1968 to evaluate community mental health programs.