Deck 6: Observing and Recording

Question 1

The overarching goal of behavioral measurement is:

A) to produce data that will guide correct and meaningful interpretations
B) to identify functional relationships in order to decrease problem behaviors
C) to record data that supports the practitioner or researcher's hypothesis
D) to provide a quantitative basis for talking about covert events

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A behavior analyst conducts an interview with the parents of one of her new clients and asks them how they think their child has responded to a new intervention. In this example, the teacher is using what kind of measurement?

A) Complete
B) Continuous
C) Indirect
D) Direct

Answer 2

C

Question 3

A personal trainer records the number of miles her client can run when he first comes to her for help. After a month of training, she again records her client's performance to see if he has improved his stamina. In this example, the personal trainer is using what kind of measurement?

A) Interval
B) Indirect
C) Complete
D) Direct

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Scientists always prefer direct measurement over indirect measurement because:

A) Indirect measurements are difficult to administer in field settings
B) Direct measurement is much easier to implement
C) Indirect measurement is more time consuming as it requires the investigator to create, administer, and record the data from the measurement tool
D) Indirect measurement requires them to make assumptions between what is measured and what it is supposed to represent

Question 5

What must be done to legitimize the use of indirect measurement?

A) The investigator must present clear experimental evidence about the relationship between what is being measured and what it is supposed to represent
B) The investigator must use the indirect measurement for an extended period of time in order to allow enough time for the intervention to demonstrate its effects
C) The investigator must repeatedly measure the target behavior using the indirect measurement
D) The investigator must use a large enough sample size to show that the results will generalize to other populations

Question 6

What advantage does equipment have over human observation?

A) Equipment can be programmed by individuals who do not have any previous programming experience
B) Automated equipment is unresponsive to events that fall outside of their design parameters
C) Mechanical equipment is much better at doing the same task repeatedly without being influenced by anything outside of their programmed parameters
D) There are no advantages to using equipment over human observers

Question 7

You are attempting to help your best friend stop smoking. In order to tell if your intervention works, you decide that you'll need some baseline data on the number of cigarettes that he smokes per day. You have some of the same classes, so you decide to record the number of cigarettes he smokes from 8:00am to 11:00am on Mondays and Wednesdays. In this example, you are using:

A) incomplete observation
B) indirect measurement
C) complete observation
D) automatic observation

Question 8

Amanda was conducting a study on vocal tics in children with Tourette's syndrome. Every 10 minutes, she would observe the child to see if he was engaged in a vocal tic at that exact moment. Amanda is using a procedure known as ______:

A) partial interval recording
B) momentary time sampling
C) continuous observation
D) whole interval recording

Question 9

Clayton's watch beeped every 5 minutes, and he recorded whether he had sworn at any time during the 5 minutes since the previous beep. This is an example of:

A) momentary time sampling
B) whole interval recording
C) indirect observation
D) partial interval recording

Question 10

Shawn's parents are interested in decreasing his hair-pulling behavior. To measure this, they recorded whether Shawn engaged in hair-pulling for the entire 10-second time period of each observation period. This is an example of:

A) whole interval recording
B) momentary time sampling
C) indirect assessment
D) partial interval recording

Question 11

One of the drawbacks to using partial interval or whole interval recording is that it does not provide the investigator with any information about:

A) duration, frequency, or scored intervals
B) scored intervals, count, or frequency
C) duration, count, or scored intervals
D) count, duration, or frequency

Question 12

The use of whole interval recording is most likely to cause the investigator to:

A) accurately measure the occurrence of the target behavior
B) overestimate the occurrence of the target behavior
C) underestimate the occurrence of the target behavior
D) cause some form of measurement reactivity

Question 13

Generally, the use of partial interval recording is likely to cause the investigator to:

A) have to minimize observer drift
B) overestimate the occurrence of the target behavior
C) accurately measure the occurrence of the target behavior
D) underestimate the occurrence of the target behavior

Question 14

The ability of partial interval, whole interval, and momentary time sampling procedures to provide accurate descriptions of responding is affected by the:

A) unit of analysis and number of participants
B) number of participants and distribution of responses
C) size of the interval and distribution of responses
D) size of the interval and number of participants

Question 15

The first step in designing an observation procedure with equipment is to:

A) determine what changes in the environment consistently result from responding and whether equipment would work
B) consider how one or more of the changes in the environment can be the focus of some device
C) establish some procedures for insuring that the device is working properly
D) calibrate the device's output in relation to its input

Question 16

All of the following are steps in designing a human observation procedure, except:

A) designing and implementing a training program
B) determining task requirements observers must meet
C) considering how the demands on observers can be minimized
D) collecting interobserver agreement data to assess accuracy and reliability

Question 17

When researchers choose to limit observer's access to information about the study as a way of minimizing the chance that it might influence their judgments, we refer to observers as being ______:

A) blind
B) reactive
C) independent
D) believable

Question 18

The most notable advantage of using participants as observers is:

A) that they are easier to train than other individuals
B) that they are less likely to be influenced by the data they are collecting than other individuals
C) that they are always present when the behavior occurs
D) that they are usually very interested in what is going on

Question 19

Some of the problems with interval recording and momentary time sampling can be minimized by:

A) taking repeated measurements
B) limiting the number of observation periods
C) selecting very short intervals
D) increasing the sample size

Question 20

All of the following are guidelines that can be used to minimize the problems associated with discontinuous measurement procedures, except:

A) running a large enough sample to increase likelihood of getting representative results
B) using discontinuous measurement only when continuous observation is not possible
C) limiting the amount of non-observation time during sessions
D) interpreting the data with respect to its limitations

Question 21

List and describe three functions of measurement.

Question 22

List the 4 goals of observing and recording.

Question 23

Distinguish between direct and indirect measurement.

Question 24

Distinguish between complete and incomplete observation.

Question 25

What question about resulting data does incomplete observation raise?

Question 26

If an observation is complete and accurate, what does that mean?

Question 27

When may it be preferable to use machines over humans for recording observations.

Question 28

Why is direct measurement always preferable to indirect measurement?

Question 29

What questions must be answered when observation only samples from among the times when responding can occur? What are their answers?

Question 30

Explain partial interval recording and the risks that can be associated with this procedure.

Question 31

Explain whole interval recording and the risks that are associated with this procedure.

Question 32

How can participants be appropriate for the role of observer?

Question 33

What can investigators do to minimize the disadvantages of discontinuous observation procedures?

Question 34

Why is it useful to distinguish between observing and recording?

Question 35

What is a blind observer and when might a researcher use one?

Question 36

Percent of scored intervals is a dimensionless quantity. Explain what a dimensionless quantity is and the problems associated with them.

Question 37

If you decided that you were going to use automatic observation in your study, what steps should you follow in designing this type of procedure?

Question 38

What are the interpretive limitations of data in the form of ratios?

Question 39

When should observations occur for recording behavior?

Question 40

If a study has multiple behaviors to record and measure, describe two risks for the evaluation and what you can do to mitigate each risk?