LeBlanc Linda A, Lund Coby, Kooken Chris, Lund Janet B, Fisher Wayne W
DataFinch Technologies, Atlanta, GA USA.
Golden, USA.
Behav Anal Pract. 2019 Jun 3;13(2):411-420. doi: 10.1007/s40617-019-00361-6. eCollection 2020 Jun.
Discontinuous measurement involves dividing an observation into intervals and recording whether a behavior occurred during some or all of each interval (i.e., interval recording) or at the exact time of observation (i.e., momentary time sampling; MTS). Collecting discontinuous data is often easier for observers than collecting continuous data, but it also produces more measurement error. Smaller intervals (e.g., 5 s, 10 s, 15 s) tend to produce less error but may not be used in everyday practice. This study examined the most common intervals used by a large sample of data collectors and evaluated the effect of these intervals on measurement error. The most commonly used intervals fell between 2 and 5 min. We then analyzed over 800 sessions to evaluate the correspondence between continuous and discontinuous data at each commonly used interval. Intervals of 3 min or less produced the greatest correspondence, and MTS outperformed interval recording.
间断测量包括将观察划分为若干时间段，并记录行为是否在每个时间段的部分或全部时间内发生（即时段记录），或者在观察的精确时间发生（即时点取样；MTS）。对于观察者而言，收集间断数据通常比收集连续数据更容易，但同时也会产生更多测量误差。较短的时间段（如5秒、10秒、15秒）往往产生的误差较小，但在日常实践中可能并不适用。本研究调查了大量数据收集者使用的最常见时间段，并评估了这些时间段对测量误差的影响。最常用的时间段在2至5分钟之间。然后，我们分析了800多个观察时段，以评估每个常用时间段下连续数据和间断数据之间的一致性。3分钟及以下的时间段产生的数据一致性最高，且即时点取样的效果优于时段记录。
