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| Review of Observation and Measurement Methods in Applied Settings |
| Friday, May 28, 2004 |
| 6:00 PM–9:00 PM |
| Beacon B |
| Area: PRA; Domain: Applied Research |
| CE Instructor: Nicole Ciotti Gardenier, Ed.D. |
| NICOLE CIOTTI GARDENIER (New England Center for Children), AMY S. GECKELER (New England Center for Children), CHERYL J. DAVIS (New England Center for Children) |
| Description: Direct observation and measurement of behavior is a hallmark of the behavior analytic approach. This workshop will provide a review of and practical guidelines for observation and measurement procedures in applied settings. The workshop will briefly review identifying and prioritizing target responses and developing operational definitions. A particular emphasis will be placed on selecting appropriate methods for measuring target responses and obtaining interobserver agreement data. Advantages and disadvantages of various measurement methods will be discussed with particular emphasis on selecting the most accurate measurement methods possible given the limited resources in typical applied settings. |
| Learning Objectives: At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to: Evaluate operational definitions using four specific criteria. Describe appropriate measurement methods based on video-taped samples of behavior. Describe advantages and disadvantages of various measurement methods for a variety of target responses. Select and calculate an appropriate index of interobserver agreement data. |
| Activities: This workshop will emphasize trainee participation in a series of exercises. For operational definitions, trainees will generate definitions from video-taped behavior samples. Then a review and critique other trainees� definitions according to specific criteria will occur. For measurement methods, trainees will (a) use a variety of measurement methods to record behaviors of varying frequency, duration, and temporal distribution; and (b) evaluate accuracy and interobserver agreement using sampling methods with varying procedures to measure the same target response. |
| Audience: Clinicians, therapists, teachers, students, and anyone else who can benefit from a review of specifying, defining, and measuring target responses. It will also be of interest to behavior analysts who are preparing to take the board certification examination. The workshop will focus primarily on Task List Content area #7. |
| Content Area: Practice |
| Instruction Level: Basic |