Extending the Single Case Analysis and Review Framework ( <scp>SCARF</scp> ‐ <scp>UI</scp> ): A review and discussion
SCARF-UI is a free, no-code website that lets you conduct visual-first literature reviews of single-case studies in one afternoon.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Gilroy et al. (2025) built SCARF-UI, a free website that lets you review piles of single-case studies without losing the graphs. You drag PDFs into the browser. The tool pulls out the pictures, scores study quality, and shows every graph on one screen.
No stats program needed. The code is open so you can peek inside or tweak it.
What they found
The paper is a how-to guide, not an experiment. The authors walk you through setting up a review, filtering studies, and spotting patterns with your eyes first. They argue that keeping the visual trace front and center stops reviewers from tossing useful studies just because the numbers look messy.
How this fits with other research
Manolov et al. (2017) gave us free R tools for crunching single-case numbers. SCARF-UI keeps the free spirit but shifts the job from analysis to synthesis. You still get pretty graphs; you just get dozens at once.
Davis et al. (2018) warned that different quality checklists can change which studies make the cut. SCARF-UI answers that by baking one checklist into the same place you view the graphs, so your eyes and your criteria update together.
Wolfe et al. (2019) wrote a step-by-step visual-analysis protocol. SCARF-UI extends their idea to whole literature sets. Instead of scoring one graph, you score them all in one dashboard.
Why it matters
If you run literature reviews for EBP reports or grant proposals, SCARF-UI can save you days of flipping between articles. You can show a parent or teacher the actual graphs that support an intervention instead of just a p-value. Try uploading your next batch of single-case articles into SCARF-UI and let the visual array guide your inclusion call.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Single-case experimental design has been increasingly represented in research over the past several decades. Increasing rates of publication, combined with unique features inherent in single-case research, have complicated efforts to synthesize published literature. This work reviews technical challenges associated with single-case research synthesis and how tools such as the Single Case Analysis and Review Framework (SCARF) can supplement these efforts while retaining critical features of visual analysis. A web-based user interface for the SCARF (SCARF-UI) is presented, described, and accompanied by a guide on its use and relevance to behavior analysts and other single-case design researchers. This free and open-source software is reviewed and presented with training materials and demonstrations of prior research reviews completed using SCARF. Additional discussion is also provided regarding avenues for increasing consistent appraisal of behavior analytic research.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 2025 · doi:10.1002/jaba.70033