Measurement, Data Display, Interpretation, and Experimental Design

Catalog description

This course introduces students to foundational research concepts in behavior analysis to develop competence in how principles of behavior are discovered and described in basic research. Topics will include operational definitions, direct, indirect, and product measures of behavior, procedures for measuring occurrence (e.g., frequency, rate, percentage), procedures for measuring temporal dimensions (e.g., duration, latency, interresponse time), and procedures for measuring form and strength (e.g., topography, magnitude). Students will distinguish continuous and discontinuous measurement, will design and implement discontinuous measurement procedures (e.g., interval recording, time sampling), will measure efficiency (e.g., trials to criterion, cost-benefit analysis, training duration), evaluate the reliability of measurement procedures, select an appropriate measurement system to represent data and procedural integrity, graph data to communicate relevant quantitative dimensions (e.g., equal-interval graphs, bar graphs, cumulative records), and interpret graphed data using visual analysis. This course covers Domain C 1-12 of the BACB Sixth Edition Test Content Outline (TCO) and satisfies the requirement that 45 contact hours on these topics are covered within a freestanding course.