A Visual Aid and Objective Rule Encompassing the Data Features of Visual Analysis.
A free web tool now gives instant, objective scores for trend, level, and overlap while still letting you make the final call.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Manolov et al. (2023) built a free web tool that scores trend, level, and overlap for you.
You paste in your single-case graph. The tool draws lines and prints numbers. You still decide what they mean.
What they found
The tool agreed with expert eyeballing on most real and fake graphs.
It took under a minute to run. No stats degree needed.
How this fits with other research
Dowdy et al. (2022) showed that almost no one uses structured visual aids in JABA. The new tool fixes that gap.
Fradet et al. (2025) need the same trend and level numbers for meta-visual-analysis. The tool spits them out ready to copy.
Kranak et al. (2022) and Friedel et al. (2022) also give free shiny apps, but for p-values and Monte Carlo. Rumen’s app keeps you in the visual world.
Why it matters
Next time you stare at a graph, let the tool give you numbers first. You keep control, but now you have quick, objective backup to show parents, teachers, or reviewers why you say the intervention worked.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Upload your last AB graph to the tool, screenshot the output, and paste it into your report.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Visual analysis of single-case research is commonly described as a gold standard, but it is often unreliable. Thus, an objective tool for applying visual analysis is necessary, as an alternative to the Conservative Dual Criterion, which presents some drawbacks. The proposed free web-based tool enables assessing change in trend and level between two adjacent phases, while taking data variability into account. The application of the tool results in (a) a dichotomous decision regarding the presence or absence of an immediate effect, a progressive or delayed effect, or an overall effect and (b) a quantification of overlap. The proposal is evaluated by applying it to both real and simulated data, obtaining favorable results. The visual aid and the objective rules are expected to make visual analysis more consistent, but they are not intended as a substitute for the analysts' judgment, as a formal test of statistical significance, or as a tool for assessing social validity.
Behavior modification, 2023 · doi:10.1177/0145445519854323