1 Chapter 3 – Methods for Recording Target Behaviors Ps534 Dr. Ken Reeve Caldwell College Post-Bac Program in ABA

2 Reminder…  We need to MEASURE changes in a behavior before we can infer that a technique or procedure was effective  Behaviors MUST be observable or they cannot be viewed as objective  If not recorded by a machine, we need at LEAST two observers to determine accuracy of behavior measurement

3 Reminder…  For any behavior, we can measure –How often does it occur? –How quickly? –How intense? –How long does it last? –What is its latency? –When does it occur? –Etc. Only SOME of these may be important for any target behavior.

4 Where to start?  ANECDOTAL RECORDING (or ABC RECORDING)  Somewhat like a more rigorous CASE STUDY  Used to informally determine the antecedents, behavior, and consequences for a given client or learner  Gives the researcher a chance to identify possible variables to manipulate

5 What next?  Once you’ve formalized your questions about what behavior to study and its relationship to a given intervention technique, you are now ready to record “real” data  Can use EVENT-BASED or TIME-BASED recording techniques, depending on the behavior in question…

6 Recording Sheets  Student’s name  Date or dates of observation  Observer name and role  Start and end time  Setting of observation  Definition of behavior being observed  Key to any codes used

7 EVENT-BASED DATA RECORDING: 1. FREQUENCY  Need to define what constitutes an occurrence of behavior  Is a simple SUM of the total times behavior occurs in a given observation session  Observation sessions must be the same duration. Why?  Generally used when behavior is free to occur at any time (called FREE OPERANT CONDITION)

8 Sample of Frequency Event Record

9 SIDE ISSUE: INTER-OBSERVER AGREEMENT (IOA)  This is degree to which what one observer sees is the same as what another observer sees  It is a measure that allows us to either trust or not trust the data collected as being accurate  Calculated as

10 EVENT-BASED DATA RECORDING: 2. RATE  Is frequency of the behavior as a function of a specific time period  # of responses PER minute, hour, day, week, etc.  Observation sessions can now be different durations in length. Why? # of responses = 10 =.5/min. Length of observation 20 mins.

11 EVENT-BASED DATA RECORDING: 3. PERCENT CORRECT  Need to define what constitutes correct or incorrect response  Calculated as Number of correct responses x 100 Number of correct + incorrect  This is best used when the number of opportunities to respond varies from day to day or from child to child. Why?

12 EVENT-BASED DATA RECORDING: 4. TRIALS TO CRITERION  Measures number of opportunities before skill is correctly emitted  Used as indicator of speed of learning

13 EVENT-BASED DATA RECORDING: 5. CUMULATIVE RECORD  Measures a running total of occurrences of behavior across sessions  Used when a certain number of emitted responses is set as the criterion

14 EVENT-BASED DATA RECORDING: 6. INTERVAL RECORDING  Caution: this sounds like a time-based measure (AND SOME EXPERTS DO REFER TO IT AS ONE) but it is EVENT-based!  Used when target behavior occurs at very HIGH frequency (which makes rate measures difficult to do)  Interval recording is an APPROXIMATION of a rate measure (see more next…)

15 EVENT-BASED DATA RECORDING: 6. INTERVAL RECORDING  6a) WHOLE INTERVAL RECORDING  Generally used when a learner engages in a long and rapid “run” of a behavior that interferes with other activities  Researcher divides observation session into many equal length intervals (ex. 10 min. session may be divided into sec. intervals)  Researcher records: did behavior “fill” the interval (marks a “+”) or not fill the interval or not occur at all (marks a “  ”)  Data presented as “% of intervals in which target behavior occurred”  Whole interval recording tends to underestimate frequency so keep this in mind!

16 EVENT-BASED DATA RECORDING: 6. INTERVAL RECORDING  6b) PARTIAL INTERVAL RECORDING  Only difference from whole interval recording is that observer notes: did behavior occur at ANY time during the interval (marks a “+”) or not at all (marks a “  ”)  Data presented as “% of intervals in which target behavior occurred”  Usually used if behavior occurs for shorter less intrusive durations of time

17 Sample of Partial Interval Recording

18 EVENT-BASED DATA RECORDING: 6. INTERVAL RECORDING  6c) MOMENTARY TIME SAMPLING  Here, observer only observes at the END of an interval (“for just a moment”) and looks to see: Is behavior occurring right now (marks a “+”) or not right now (marks a “  ”)  Data presented as “% of intervals in which target behavior occurred”  Usually used if behavior occurs for longer durations of time

19 EVENT-BASED DATA RECORDING: 7. MAGNITUDE RECORDING  Measures the INTENSITY of a behavior  Usually difficult to be very objective unless a mechanical system of some sort is used

20 EVENT-BASED DATA RECORDING: 8. TOPOGRAPHY RECORDING  Measures the way the response LOOKS or is moved through space  Why an issue? Sometimes we don’t care so much about OUTCOME of a response (like effectively pressing a button with no regard as to how) as we do correctly performing the response (using the finger to press the button as opposed to smashing the button with a fist)  Is it appropriate to drop-kick the light switch to turn it off?

21 TIME-BASED DATA RECORDING: 1. DURATION RECORDING  Records how long the behavior lasts  Used when we are more concerned about duration than frequency or rate  Ex. Exercise time, eye gaze or attending, in-seat, studying duration, etc.

22 Sample Duration Recording

23 TIME-BASED DATA RECORDING: 2. LATENCY RECORDING  Records how much time it takes to BEGIN a behavior since an antecedent stimulus was presented  Ex. Responding to a request, making an initiation to a person entering a room, etc.

24 Sample Latency Recording