The complexity of human behavior demands that research methods be capable of dealing with multivariate, multioccasion, multisubject data if successful explanatory accounts of behavior are to be constructed. When the research focus is on developmental phenomena such as aging, the complexity of the task is even greater because of the difficulties of modeling and accounting for systematic changes in behavior. Proper decisions about which research methods to use rest on four principal concerns: (1) general orientation of the research; (2) theoretical assumptions concerning the nature of the phenomenon being studied; (3) data collection strategy; and (4) data analysis tactics.
Replicated, multivariate, single-subject research designs such as P-technique involve assessment with multiple variables at each of many times of measurement. The resulting data, which are analyzed to determine the nature of occasion-to-occasion changes in the variables, can inform about both covariation patterns and level. Such designs have not been exploited by researchers in aging even though concern with a variety of intraindividual changes in older adulthood is evident in the literature. The rationale of such designs and their potential utility for the study of adult development and aging are examined and discussed.
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