Experimental Design and Research Methods Flashcards

Which threat to internal validity occurs when unplanned events outside the study coincide with behavior change?

Answer: History

History refers to external events that occur concurrently with the intervention and could account for observed behavior change.

The independent variable in a behavior analytic experiment is:

Answer: The intervention or treatment being manipulated

The independent variable is what the researcher deliberately manipulates to determine its effect on behavior.

Social validity in ABA research refers to assessing the:

Answer: Meaningfulness and acceptability of goals, procedures, and outcomes

Social validity measures whether the intervention's goals, procedures, and outcomes are valued and considered acceptable by stakeholders.

A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design differs from a concurrent multiple baseline in that:

Answer: Baselines for different tiers are collected at different points in time

In a nonconcurrent multiple baseline, the different tiers (participants, behaviors, or settings) are not observed at the same time, reducing the ability to rule out confounds.

Replication across participants in single-subject research increases:

Answer: External validity and generality of findings

Replicating findings across multiple participants extends external validity by showing the effect is not limited to one individual.

Visual analysis of graphed data in ABA typically examines:

Answer: Level, trend, and variability within and between phases

ABA practitioners use visual analysis to evaluate level (average performance), trend (direction of change), and variability (consistency) within and across phases.