Behavior Measurement and Discontinuous Measurement

4 important questions on Behavior Measurement and Discontinuous Measurement

When is discontinuous measurement used?

When it is too difficult or not feasible to record every instance of behavior, e.g., the behavior happens too frequently, the behavior does not have a clear beginning and ending, multiple behaviors occur at the same time, or observer issues (may need to keep an eye on other students or perform other tasks).

What is whole interval recording?

A measurement procedure which records if the behavior was present during an entire specified period of time.
  • a discontinuous measurement procedure where time is divided into intervals
  • the behavior must occur consistently throughout each interval to be recorded as an occurrence
  • reported as a percentage of intervals that the behavior occurred
  • generally used to measure if a desired behavior is increasing over time
  • observation period is divided into equal intervals of time
  • if the target behavior occurs during the entire interval, the observer marks that the behavior occurred
  • if the behavior does not occur it is a non-occurrence

What is partial interval recording?

  • A procedure that measures whether a behavior occurred at any time during a specified time interval
  • Multiple occurrences within the same interval are scored as one
  • Allows for easier recording of multiple behaviors
  • Reported as a percentage of intervals where the behavior occurred
  • Frequently used to measure whether a behavior is decreasing over time
  • Observation period is divided into equal intervals of time
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What is momentary time sampling/momentary interval recording?

A measurement procedure which records if the behavior occurred at the very end of the specific time interval.
  • Commonly used when the observer is unable to attend to the behavior of the individual during the entire observation
  • Observation period is divided into equal intervals of time, however, behavior that occurs within each interval is disregarded for measurement. ONLY BEHAVIOR OCCURRING AT THE END OF THE INTERVAL PERIOD IS RECORDED.

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