Measurement Summary
Continuous Measures: Measuring each and every instance of behavior
within the observation period.
Continuous measurement includes:
o Event Recording
o Frequency
o Rate
o Duration / Total Duration
o Latency
o Inter-Response Time (IRT)
Event Recording
o When you write an anecdotal account of behavior.
o The only numerical elements are documentation of the start and end
times of the behavior.
o Typically used for new or rarely occurring behaviors.
Frequency
o Also known as “count”.
o Involves tallying how many times the behavior occurs.
o Has a clear onset and offset of the behavior.
o Should only be used for behaviors you can get an accurate count for.
Rate
o Frequency divided by the time you want to use (hour, minute,
second, etc.).
o Used for behaviors that are frequent and short.
Celeration
o How the rate of responding changes over time.
o Acceleration: An increase in responding over time.
o Deceleration: A decrease in responding over time.
Duration
o The length of time for which a behavior occurs.
o Has a clear onset and offset of the behavior.
o Good for behaviors that last a long time or occur at such high rates
that frequency would be difficult.
o Begin recording when the behavior starts and end recording when it
stops.
o For total duration, add the duration for each occurrence of the
behavior.
Temporal Locus
o Measuring the passage of time in instruction.
o Latency: the amount of time from instruction to when a person
actually performs the behavior.
o Inter-Response Time (IRT): The amount of time it takes for one
instance of behavior to stop and the next one to begin.
To measure this, start the timer when the behavior stops and
stop the timer when the behavior starts again.
Derivative Measures: Measurement tools that are interpretations of raw
data.
o Percentage: Dividing the same dimensional measurement (number
or time) by each other and multiplying by 100.
o Trials-to-Criterion: How many total responses it takes in order to
achieve a specific performance goal.
Intensity Recording: Involves the measurement of the intensity of each
behavior during an observation.
o Intensity might be recorded by force, volume, impact, etc.
Topography: The physical form or shape of a behavior – how it looks.
o This would be recorded anecdotally for the most part.
Discontinuous Measurement: Means observing and recording behavior
during intervals or at specific moments in time.
o You would use a discontinuous measurement system over a
continuous measurement system when the frequency of behavior is
too high to get a correct tally, the duration is too long, or you are not
available to constantly monitor the client.
The key examples of discontinuous measurement are:
o Whole Interval: Recording the presence or absence of a behavior
during the entire interval.
o Partial Interval: Recording the presence or absence of a behavior
during a brief interval of time even once.
o Momentary Time Sampling: Recording the presence or absence of a
behavior at the end of an interval
Permanent Product: recording measures the outcome of a behavior by
analyzing the product of the behavior.
o The product is the outcome the behavior has on the environment.
