RBT Review: Measurement Practice

Event/Frequency Data

Ideal for discrete behaviors (start/stop) that occur at moderate rates

Rate

Divides frequency of the observation time, allowing comparisons across different-length sessions

Partial Interval Recording

Score if the behavior occurred at any point during the interval

• overestimate of behavior

Whole Interval Recording

Score only if the behavior occurred for the entire interval

• underestimate

Interobserver Agreement

• two observers independently record the same behavior

• Calculated to ensure data reliability

• Aim for 80% or higher

Duration

• how long a behavior lasts from start to finish

Latency

• the time between a signal (like the beginning of instruction) and the start of the behavior

Momentary Time Sampling

• observe only at the end of each trial

• least intrusive method and provides an unbiased estimation of behavior occurrence

Permanent Product Recording

• measures the tangible outcome of a behavior (ex: completed worksheets, broken items), rather than observing direct behavior

Scatterplot

• a scatterplot helps identify patterns in behavior across different times of day

Condition labels

• identify what condition (baseline, intervention) was in effect during each phase

Frequency Recording

• doesn’t account for different observation lengths (frequency/time corrects this)

Rate of behavior

• calculated by dividing frequency by the duration of the observation period

IRT measures

• elapsed time between two successive responses of the same behavior

A flat data path on a graph

• represents stability → the behavior is unchanging

Whole interval recording is best suited for behaviors you want to:

decrease

A teacher records whether a student is on-task at the end of every 2-minute interval. This is an example of:

Momentary Time Sampling

Which recording method would be best for a behavior that occurs at very high rates?

Time sampling

What is the benefit of using multiple baseline designs?

They demonstrate experimental control without withdrawing treatment

Which visual analysis feature refers to how quickly behavior changes after an intervention?

Latency of change

Frequency recording

• A continuous measurement procedure bc every instance of behavior is captured

What does variability in a dataset indicate?

• the behavior is fluctuating

What is ”measurement reactivity?”

• when the act of measuring changes the behavior being measured