SPCE 630
A research study has groups that are randomly assigned, low attrition, and minimal confounding variables. Based on the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Standards, this study is likely to receive which of the following designations:
NOT: Meets WWC standards with reservations
A 7-year old boy bangs his head on his desk, wall, or another hard surface throughout the day and during multiple activities. He uses different levels of force. His parents are tracking this behavior because they are concerned about the bruises that he acquires as a result of this behavior. Which measurement system is most appropriate to use with this behavior? Only pick one.
NOT: Partial interval recording
A BCBA is interested in evaluating the use of fidgets to decrease vocal stereotypy in a student with autism spectrum disorder. Prior to conducting her study, she conducts a literature review to identify existing research. She is struggling to find articles on this topic. Which of the following are strategies that she could use to help her to find literature on this topic?
NOT: She should read other similar articles to identify whether the best keyword to use is fidget spinner, ADHD, or toys.
A researcher wanted to know whether teachers were more likely to implement reading interventions with treatment fidelity if they were trained directly with the student who was referred or with the researcher role-playing the part of the student. What research design methodology should be used?
NOT: Single case research design would be appropriate.
Rapid iterative alternation designs include which of the following
NOT: The repetition of an A-B comparison, with single session replication and comparisons
The hypothesis that assumes that sample observations are influenced by some non-random cause is:
The alternative hypothesis
Internal validity of a study depends on:
The attempts by the researcher to ensure plausible reasons for behavior change, other than planned experimental changes, are controlled for.
A researcher investigated whether teaching perspective taking to individuals with ASD would affect social skills. What is the dependent variable?
Social skills
Which of the following is the correct format for a parenthetical citation with 4 authors for the first parenthetical citation in text (APA 7th edition)
(Dieringer et al., 2017)
Informed consent includes:
A statement that the participant can withdraw from the research at any time without penalty.
The data trend show the independent variable may have had an effect on the behavior.
Affirmation
The primary purpose of the literature review is to:
All of the above
Which of the following is a limitation of group design?
All of the above are potential limitations of group design.
Researchers investigated whether an interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis impacts the treatment of challenging behavior in young children with ASD. What is/are the dependent variable(s)?
Challenging behavior
The use of a systematic process of replication designed to identify effective intervention packages that are effective with a range of individuals in the target population.
Clinical replication
Reliable measurement is:
Consistent
A researcher plans to observe children with and without autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during recess. She plans to observe the degree to which children without ASD initiate interactions with students who have ASD. She will describe her data as a collection of facts. Which level of scientific understanding is the researcher using?
Description
Repeating the experimental effect in the same study with different participants.
Direct inter-subject replication
Repeating the experimental effect with the same participant more than once in the same study.
Direct intra-subject replication
Jacob recently conducted a study at a residential center in which he evaluated a procedure to train direct care staff to increase positive interactions with the residents during mealtime. During the course of the study he became concerned that the data collectors were not attending during the observation and as a result underestimated the occurrence of behavior. Jacob is most likely concerned with which of the following:
Error
A researcher wanted to know if teacher professional development leads to more frequent implementation of behavioral interventions. What is the dependent variable?
Frequency of implementation
Wendy a 6-year old girl screams often at home and wakes up her baby sister. Her parents are looking to track this behavior and they are most concerned about the behavior that is louder than an average noise level. Which measurement system is most appropriate to use with this behavior? Only pick one.
Intensity recording
John is often off-task during class. His teacher decides to track his off-task behavior, but she has 24 other students to attend to and cannot focus only on him. Which measurement system is most appropriate to use with this behavior? Only pick one.
Momentary time sampling
The data trend repeats the effect that that independent variable has on the dependent variable, increasing the researcher's confidence that a functional relation exists between the independent variable and the dependent variable.
Replication
The term _______ refers to the scientific orientation stressing the simplest explanations for phenomena observed in scientific practice.
Parsimony
Which type of recording is a discontinuous measurement procedure?
Partial interval recording
Experimental designs:
Require systematic manipulation of an independent variable and careful measurement of the dependent variables.
A guess about what the data would show if there is no change in the experimental condition(s).
Prediction
Inconsistent implementation of the experimental condition.
Procedural Infidelity
A researcher wanted to know if the use of prompting increases attention of students with ADHD. What is the independent variable?
Prompting
Which of the following are measures of dispersion?
Range, standard deviation, variance
A researcher carries out a planned series of studies that incorporate systematic changes from one study to the next and identifies them as a replication series.
Systematic replication
Which of the following is true about single-case research design?
The participant serves as his or her own control.
What is a primary reason for replicating the findings of a study:
To assess the generality of the study
The data trend shows there is a cause-effect relation between the independent and dependent variables at the simplest level.
Verification
Students at a University were split into two classes and each class received different exams. One class received a traditional written exam, while the other received practical exams. After the course, the final grades between the two groups of students were compared. What was the independent variable?
exam type
Well-designed applied research studies allow for:
NOT: Causal conclusions about the extent to which the independent variable is always responsible for changes in the dependent variable.
The research question "Does implementation of a time out procedure on an FR 2 schedule result in faster reductions of challenging behavior, when compared to an FR 4 schedule?
NOT: Comparative question
When evaluating the external validity of a study, a researcher should consider which of the following?
NOT: Generality across settings, generality across subjects, and generality across outcomes.
A researcher is consulting with 5 therapists who are learning to use prompt fading procedures. The researcher wanted to evaluate if Behavioral Skills Training is effective for increasing correct use of prompt fading procedures. What research design methodology should be used?
Single case research design is most appropriate.
Two observers recorded whether hand-flapping occurred or did not occur during an interval. Calculate IOA based on the Interval by Interval Method.
40%
These data show which of the following:
A change in variability
The loss of participants during a study, which limits the generality of findings.
Attrition
A supervisor wanted to know if using a checklist would increase objective session note writing. What is the independent variable?
Checklist
A therapist utilized a chain schedule of reinforcement and a child's conversation increased. What is the dependent variable?
Child's Conversation
A type of data instability that refers to a repeated and predictable pattern in the data series over time.
Cyclical Variability
Dr. Tingstrom is interested in evaluating the effectiveness of tootling for increasing positive peer reporting in an elementary classroom. He collects data in Mrs. Dobbs's fourth grade classroom. He hopes to demonstrate the same effects of tootling with the same classroom more than once in the same study. Specifically, he hopes that behaviors are at similar levels when the intervention is in place compared to when it is withdrawn. This is an example of:
Direct intra-subject replication
A 7-year old boy hits his head with his hand only when presented with a reading task. There is a discrete start and stop to this behavior. His one-on-one aid is tasked with collecting data for this behavior. Which measurement system is most appropriate to use with this behavior? Only pick one.
Event recording
A BCBA is trying to determine if Thomas has mastered a matching task he has been taught. She asks the RBT to collect data for this behavior during her session with Thomas. The RBT will record each correct response. Which measurement system is the RBT using? Only pick one.
Event recording
A study examined the content of ABA therapy on skills acquisition and intelligence score of 90 children with ASD and related disabilities. Researchers compared (A) traditional ABA consisting of verbal behavior techniques, (B) comprehensive ABA, and (C) waitlist control. What research design methodology should be used?
Group research design would be appropriate.
Researchers wanted to increase parents' understanding of ABA. Parents were randomly assigned to either didactic instruction or direct instruction. What research design methodology should be used?
Group research design would be appropriate.
Students in a graduate ABA program were split into two groups each receiving different exams. One group received a traditional written exam, while the other received a practical exam. After the course, the final grades between the two groups of students was compared. What research design methodology should be used?
Group research design would be appropriate.
The curriculum specialist for a large school district wanted to evaluate the use of a new math curriculum for elementary school students. Elementary schools were assigned to one of two conditions: One group of schools used the existing math curriculum; another group of schools used the new curriculum. Scores on the state level math exam were compared. What research design methodology should be used?
Group research design would be appropriate.
A scientist-practitioner wanted to increase language skills in a child with William's Syndrome. The researcher evaluated whether the use of mand training increased the child's functional communication skills. What is the independent variable?
Mand training
Amanda is an RBT at an ABA clinic. She is working with her client, Jerrell, to decrease aggressive behaviors (i.e., biting others). She has collected data for the frequency of Jerrell's bites for three weeks. Calculate the mean, median, and mode of the following data set (round to the nearest whole number): Week 1: 22, 31, 20, 32, 32 Week 2: 7, 8, 13, 31, 17 Week 3: 16, 5, 9, 12, 15
Mean = 18, Median =16, Mode = 31, 32
Mona is prepping a manuscript for a study she did. She's on the section where she is writing the response definition. What section is Mona writing?
Method
Which of the following is an advantage of using percentage data over numbers?
NOT: Allows the behavior analyst to make sense of data when the opportunities to respond is relatively low (i.e., less than 20)
Carryover effects:
NOT: Is best described as the effect of a procedure used in one condition on responding in an adjacent condition.
A BCBA calculated IOA for the above data set. IOA was reported as 16.6%. IOA was calculated using which of the following:
Scored intervals
A researcher evaluated the use of video monitoring to increase graduate student's productivity when working on research projects. What research design methodology should be used?
Single case research design would be appropriate.
Researchers evaluated the effects of differential reinforcement without extinction for participants with ASD who engaged in challenging behavior when asked to transition. What research design methodology should be used?
Single case research design would be appropriate.
Kacyn is a BCBA at an ABA Center. She is running a small social skills group with 6 children who have autism spectrum disorder. Kacyn is using the "Tough Kids Social Skills Curriculum." The goal of the social skills sessions is to build basic social entry skills (e.g., making eye contact, greetings, responding to name). Prior to the start of the group, Kacyn collected data for each of the participants. Specifically, she asked the therapists to complete the BASC-2 (a rating scale that measures changes in behavior and emotional status) and also collected the frequency of spontaneous greetings during a 30-minute observation period. She continued to collect data for spontaneous greetings during and after implementation of the social skills group. What is the dependent variable?
The frequency of spontaneous greetings
The primary goal of single case research design is:
To determine whether a causal or functional relationship exists between a research manipulated independent variable and a meaningful change in the dependent variable.
A teacher is concerned about her student's humming behavior in the classroom. The behavior doesn't have a clear start and stop time and seems to present differently depending on the task. Sometimes, the humming is in a low pitch and other times it is very loud. It also can be in the form of a song under some circumstances and in others, it doesn't seem to be recognizable. The parent is concerned because the teacher reported that it is distracting other students in her classes. The teacher will collect data for 45 minutes each day. The observation is divided into 15-second intervals. The teacher will record the behavior as occurring when it has occurred for the duration of the interval. Which measurement system is the teacher using? Only pick one.
Whole-interval recording
A researcher was interested in strategies to increase social participation in students with ASD. Five adolescents with ASD used scripts to learn how to appropriately ask to join an activity. What is the independent variable?
scripts
Dr. Jones wanted to know if the use of the Good Behavior Game decreased rates of disruptive behaviors in an elementary school. Dr. Jones collected data throughout the duration of the school year across two elementary schools. In school A, all k-6 classrooms used the Good Behavior Game. In School B, no classrooms used the Good Behavior Game. At the end of the school year, Dr. Jones shouted, "Eureka! The Good Behavior Game works," when in fact it had no impact on student disruptive behavior. This is an example of:
A Type I Error
A 15-year old girl is often late for curfew. Her parents decide to start tracking how late she is from her missed curfew so that they can reduce the time that she stays out past her curfew. Which measurement system is most appropriate to use with this behavior? Only pick one.
NOT: Duration recording
Which of the following is a measure of dispersion?
All of these (Range, Variance, Standard Deviation)
Which of the following research questions can be answered using single case research design?
All of these can be answered using single case research design.
Which of the following statements are true regarding treatment integrity?
An overall treatment integrity level at or above 80% has been proposed as a criterion for acceptable research, although there are few data to support this criterion.
A teacher in a preschool classroom is tracking Jonah's aggression towards peers. Jonah's aggression only occurs during free play times and the teacher often has extra support during these times. Which measurement system is most appropriate to use with this behavior? Only pick one.
NOT: Duration recording
Todd is a BCBA employed at an ABA Center. He is working with a client who engages in high rates of vocal stereotypy. Todd would like to implement an intervention that includes response interruption and redirection. To determine if this intervention is effective, he will use a multiple baseline design across settings. He will collect data for 25 minutes each day. His observation will be divided into 15-second intervals. During each interval he will code vocal stereotypy as occurring if it occurs for the duration of the 15-second interval. Based on the literature, Todd's estimate of the percentage of intervals in which the behavior occurs is likely to be which of the following?
An underestimate of behavior
A 5-year-old boy is not participating in his dinner routine. His parents seek help from a clinician who applies a culturally informed approach to positive behavior support. After time, the child's participation in a dinner routine improved. What is the independent variable?
Culturally informed approach to positive behavior support
A 3-year old girl tantrums every time her mother drops her off at her grandmother's house before she goes to work. The mother is concerned about how long the behavior is occurring and asks the grandmother to take some data for her. Which measurement system is most appropriate to use with this behavior? Only pick one.
Duration recording
Alfonso often engages in tantrums that include flopping to the floor. Once Alfonso flops to the floor it often takes a long time to redirect him to the task demand. His one-on-one aid is tasked with tracking the length of this behavior and will report back to the overseeing BCBA. Which measurement system is most appropriate to use with this behavior. Only pick one.
Duration recording
Which of the following is a limitation of using statistical significance to differentiate between meaningful and trivial change?
NOT: Large enough sample sizes will always show a significant difference between populations.
A teacher is trying to determine if Erica has mastered a mathematical task she has been taught. She asks the aid to collect data on her completing this task during her session with Erica. The aid will record each correct response. Which measurement system is the aid using?
Event recording
Students at a University were split into two groups and each received a different text for a research design course. One group received a traditional text book, while the other received an interactive textbook on a table computer. After the course, the final exam marks between the two groups of students was compared. What research design methodology should be used?
Group research design would be appropriate.
Events that occur during the experiment but that are not related to planned procedural changes that may influence the outcomes.
History
Threats to internal validity include:
History, maturation, testing, procedural infidelity
Researchers were previously trained to use the IRAP computer software as an interactive teaching tool. They decide to study the efficacy of this tool for teaching relational responding. Researchers used IRAP with participants diagnosed with ASD and their relational responding increased in speed and accuracy. What is the independent variable?
IRAP Computer Software
Threats related to the measurement system, and are of concern because of repeated measurement by human observers who may make errors.
Instrumentation
These graphs demonstrate which of the following:
Inter-subject replication with an A/B/A/B design
Which of the following is true about whole interval data recording?
It has a tendency to under-estimate the occurrence of behavior.
A consultant investigated whether teleconsultation could effectively teach a child with ASD language skills. What is the dependent variable?
Language Skills
A mother wants to know how long it takes for her child to begin to follow a direction after she places a demand. She starts a timer after issuing the demand and records how long it takes for her to initiate compliance. Which measurement system is the mother using? Only pick one.
Latency recording
Changes in behavior due to the passage of time.
Maturation
Juan a 15-year old boy engages in public masturbation. This behavior occurs throughout the day during 1:1 therapy, small group, and lunch. His BCBA has suggested collecting data to inform treatment recommendations, but sometimes the therapist has other clients to attend to. The BCBA has provided the therapist with a MotivAider, which is set for 30-second intervals. At the end of the 30-second interval, the therapist records whether Juan is engaging in public masturbation. Which measurement system is the therapist using? Only pick one.
Momentary time sampling
Occurs when a participant's behavior is influenced by more than one planned intervention during the course of a study.
Multiple Treatment Intreference
Based on the information provided above, this article is likely an example of which of the following types of articles:
NOT: An empirical article that uses group research design to evaluate psychotropic medications for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other developmental disabilities
A child's whining behavior occurs at high rates throughout the day during various activities and includes different vocalizations including understandable phrases such as "I don't want to." and crying without tears. The child's aid at school and the parents decide to track this behavior for 30 minutes a day. They divided the observation period into 10-second intervals. If the child engages in whining during any part of the interval the behavior is coded. Which measurement system is the child's aid using? Only pick one.
Partial interval recording
Tanesha is a BCBA employed at a school. She is consulting with four special education teachers who each report having a student with high levels of off-task behavior. Tanesha suggested using brief group physical activity breaks as an intervention to increase on-task behavior. To determine if her intervention is effective, she will use a multiple baseline design across four participants. She will collect data for 30 minutes each day. Her observation will be divided into 10-second intervals. During each interval she will code off-task behavior as occurring if it occurs for any duration during the 10-second interval. Based on this information, what measurement system is Tanesha most likely using?
Partial interval recording
Janet is a BCBA-D who is consulting in a high school life skills classroom. She has recently suggested an intervention for a student with academic deficits. After a careful assessment, she has determined that the academic deficits are the result of a skill deficit as opposed to a performance deficit. She plans to train the teacher to use two academic interventions. The first will address handwriting and the second will address fluency with single-digit multiplication. Janet can only check in on the case every other week. The teacher will keep worksheets from the intervention for Janet to review. Which of the following is the best option for collecting data?
Permanent product data
A 17-year old teenager is tasked with taking the trash out as one of his chores when the trash is full. His parents are not always able to see him taking out the trash, so they decide to count the number of full trash cans in their home. Which measurement system is most appropriate to use with this behavior? Only pick one.
Permanent product recording
Kai is a 4th-grade student who was referred for a spelling intervention. The consultant has put a cover-copy-compare intervention in place. Each week Kai completes a spelling test where he is asked to write 10 spelling words that the consultant used in a sentence. The consultant saves this spelling test as a lasting artifact of the intervention and to progress monitor the effects of the intervention over time. Which measurement system is the consultant using? Only pick one.
Permanent product recording
According to Carr and Briggs (2010) practitioners of applied behavior analysis should base their professional activities on the research literature. One barrier is the cost of journal subscriptions. A solution suggested by Carr and Briggs (2010) includes:
Reading articles in journals, such as, the Journal of Behavior Assessment and Intervention in Children, which provide articles for free.
Dr. Lestremau is employed in a large urban school district with 10 elementary schools. She wants to evaluate the effects and feasibility of peer-mediated, school-based, discrete trial training for teaching multiplication skills to six students with autism spectrum disorder. She will collect on-going and frequent measurement of students' fluency with multiplication facts. Dr. Lestremau is using:
Single case research design methodology
A clinician was referred five children between the ages of 3-5 who frequently leave their room and have severe tantrums at bedtime. The researcher implemented the use of bedtime passes to decrease these behaviors. The researcher measured the duration of problem behavior.
Single case research design would be appropriate.
Researchers implemented an interest-based intervention to explore its impact on the frequency of peer social interaction. Data for each participant were collected each day for six weeks. What research design methodology should be used?
Single case research design would be appropriate.
Researchers investigated whether therapeutic horseback riding would decrease off-task behavior in a group of five adolescents with ASD. Each student has a therapeutic horseback riding session every day. They are then asked to complete a brief academic task where off-task behavior is measured. What research design methodology should be used?
Single case research design would be appropriate.
Professor Smith wants to increase time working on research-related activities by implementing a structured schedule, self-monitoring, and goal setting. What is/are the independent variable(s)?
Structured schedule, self-monitoring, and goal setting
A teacher implemented an incentive program and her classroom's behavior improved. What is the dependent variable?
Student's Behavior
Researchers investigated whether task intersperal (TI) would facilitate the acquisition of novel skills. Participants were university students who met with researchers on five separate occasions. What is the independent variable?
Task intersperal
Occurs when participants need to respond to the same test repeatedly during a baseline or probe condition, which influences responding.
Testing
Dr. Dart is a behavior analyst. He is working with Tom, who exhibits low rates of compliance with parent requests. Dr. Dart trains Tom's parents to use Effective Instruction Delivery (EID). He collects data regarding Tom's compliance, and parents' use of EID and summarizes these data using a line graph. One of the primary reasons for summarizing data using a line graph is:
To display relationships between dependent variable and independent variable
A therapist investigated whether treatment outcomes could be enhanced by attending to relationships with caregivers. What is the dependent variable?
Treatment Outcomes
Identify the citation in correct APA format (7th edition)
Vincent, L. B., Openden, D., Gentry, J. A., Long, L. A., & Matthews, N. L. (2017). Promoting social learning at recess for children with ASD and related social challenges. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 11(1), 19-33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-017-0178-8
