BACB Measurement and Data Collection 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which measurement dimension records the number of times a behavior occurs within an observation period?
- Duration
- Frequency (count) (Correct answer)
- Latency
- Interresponse time
Correct answer: Frequency (count)
Frequency (count) is a fundamental measurement dimension that records how many times a discrete behavior occurs during an observation period.
Question 2: What measurement dimension captures the elapsed time from the onset of a behavior to its offset?
- Frequency
- Latency
- Duration (Correct answer)
- Interresponse time
Correct answer: Duration
Duration measures how long a behavior lasts from its beginning to its end, appropriate for behaviors that have a clear start and stop.
Question 3: Which recording method involves observing and recording behavior during brief, equally spaced time intervals and noting whether the behavior occurred at all during each interval?
- Whole-interval recording
- Partial-interval recording (Correct answer)
- Momentary time sampling
- Continuous recording
Correct answer: Partial-interval recording
Partial-interval recording scores an interval as positive if the target behavior occurred at any point during that interval, which tends to overestimate duration.
Question 4: Which time-sampling method records whether the behavior is occurring at the exact moment the interval ends?
- Whole-interval recording
- Partial-interval recording
- Momentary time sampling (Correct answer)
- Event recording
Correct answer: Momentary time sampling
Momentary time sampling records behavior only at the precise end of each interval, making it less disruptive but less sensitive to brief behaviors.
Question 5: What is interobserver agreement (IOA), and why is it important in ABA research?
- A measure of how closely two independent observers' data match, ensuring measurement reliability (Correct answer)
- A statistical test for significance between groups
- A method for calculating treatment effect size
- A way to assess social validity of an intervention
Correct answer: A measure of how closely two independent observers' data match, ensuring measurement reliability
IOA measures the degree to which two independent observers record the same data, providing evidence that the measurement system is reliable and objective.
Question 6: Which IOA calculation method divides each observation session into smaller intervals and calculates agreement interval by interval?
- Total count IOA
- Mean count per interval IOA
- Exact count per interval IOA (Correct answer)
- Proportional IOA
Correct answer: Exact count per interval IOA
Exact count per interval IOA requires both observers to record the same count within each interval, making it the most stringent of the count-based IOA methods.
BACB Measurement and Data Collection 1
Which measurement dimension records the number of times a behavior occurs within an observation period?