Fourth Edition Task List.
Section 1
A-01, A-02, A-03, A-04, A-05
Frequency: This is just how many times that a behavior occurred.
Remember, FREQUENCY=COUNT
Example: The client screamed 7 times during the hour observation period.
Rate: Ratio of count per observation time.
Example: The client engages in an average of 16 instances of screaming per hour.
Duration: A measure of the total time that the behavior occurs.
Example: One instance of screaming lasted for 37 seconds.
Latency: The elapsed time from the onset of a stimulus to the time that the response started.
Example: The teacher said touch dog, and 4 seconds later, the client touched the dog. The latency is 4 seconds in this scenario.
Interresponse time (IRT): Elapsed time between two successive responses.
Example: 13 seconds passed in between the two instances of screaming.
You try.
1. If you are tracking a behavior that usually lasts anywhere from 5 seconds to 3 minutes on average, what method would you use to measure the behavior?
Duration.
2. Why is calculating IRT important?
Calculating IRT is a good way to determine an appropriate interval length for DRO schedules. It will let you know how long the client goes on average WITHOUT engaging in a certain problem behavior.
Visit the following link for a powerpoint presentation comparing frequency, interval, and time-sampling methods of data collection.
http://bcbatestprep.blogspot.com/2014/06/comparison-of-frequency-interval-and.html
