Data Collection
What is Data Collection?
Data is an essential component of supporting a student's positive behavior. It is used to track the decrease in challenging behavior and the increase in desired, positive behavior. Without this information, it will be unclear if the student is making progress or if the interventions are working or not.
Data can be collected on individual students or tied to interventions within a multi-tiered systems framework (e.g., Check In/Check Out). It is collected as part of the functional behavioral assessment (FBA) process and to monitor the effectiveness of a Behavior Intervention Plan. Data supports IEP goals, whether behavioral or academic.
As such, educators must understand which type of data collection is most appropriate for the behavior or skill they are tracking. Some types of data will be ineffective in measuring particular skills or behaviors, as the information collected will not be particularly relevant or useful.
Fast Facts on Data Collection Via Direct Measurements of Behavior
Original document created by Denise Keller, adapted here for accessibility.
What is behavior data and what is it used for?
Behavior data is the product of measuring and recording behavior, and provides information necessary for monitoring the behavior, such as:
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Establishing a baseline of the target behavior(s) to increase or decrease behavior.
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An objective means of providing information to the student, staff, families, and administrators.
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Allowing for the comparison of behavior pre and post intervention. The analysis of data tells us whether the interventions are effective and should guide the decisions on making changes to a program, including whether to continue with an intervention.
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Specific dimensions about the behavior:
- When and where behaviors are most likely to occur
- How often, how long, how much
- How intense
- With whom, and as a result of what
What is a direct measurement of behavior?
Direct measurement of behavior is accomplished through the direct measurement of permanent products (e.g., work samples, some sort of product produced by the student as a result of behavior) and through direct observational recording (e.g., event recording, frequency, etc.)
When do we use measurements of permanent products?
Permanent product is not always an effective or appropriate measure of behavior. There are two rules to be considered when using permanent products for data collection:
- Rule 1: "Each occurrence of the target behavior results naturally in the same permanent product...such as answers on a worksheet."
- Rule 2: "...the product can be produced only by the target behavior"
When do we use direct observational recording?
When the behavior can be observed.
What are the different types of data collection
Type of Data Collection |
What is it? |
When to Use? |
How to Collect? |
|---|---|---|---|
Event Recording |
A tally or count of behaviors as they occur. |
When it is important to know the number of times a behavior occurs. For behaviors which are short (e.g., raising one’s hand), rather than for extended periods (e.g., reading or playing). |
|
Frequency Recording |
A simple count of how many times a behavior occurs during a designated observation period (e.g., 30 seconds, 1 minute, etc.) This fixed observation period must remain consistent for all data collection periods to ensure accuracy. |
Target behavior should be short (e.g., hand raising, hitting), have a definite, observable beginning and ending, and should not occur at high rates. |
Tally the number of occurrences during the fixed period. Divide by the length of the time interval. |
Scatter Plot |
A visual depiction of occurrences of the behavior of concern across the student’s daily activities. |
Can be done by activity and/or time. Used to detect patterns (if any) of the occurrence of the behavior of concern. Limitation: does not provide all information about antecedents and consequences but provides a good starting point. |
Tally the occurrences of behavior during the student's daily activities. |
Latency Recording |
Measurement of the length of elapsed time between the onset of a stimulus (e.g., a direction such as "start your work") and the occurrence of a behavior (e.g., student beginning work task). |
Latency recording is typically used when there is need to decrease the amount of time it takes for a student to respond to an instruction or other stimulus (e.g., time it takes to get started on an assignment following a direction, to give a verbal response following a question, to begin to clean up after free time, etc.) |
Latency can be measured using a stopwatch that is started when the stimulus is provided and stopped when the desired behavior begins. After collecting, the results can be added together and divided by number of observations to get the average latency. |
Partial-Interval Recording |
Records whether the behavior was present at any time during the interval (not concerned with how many times the behavior occurred). This is a type of interval recording. |
This procedure tends to produce a slight overestimate of the presence of the target behavior and should therefore be used when the goal is to produce a behavior reduction. |
A data sheet is divided into appropriate, equal intervals (e.g., 30 seconds, 5 minutes, etc.); if behavior occurs at any point during the interval, it is marked once (and only once). |
Whole-Interval Recording |
Records whether the behavior was present during the entire interval (not concerned with how many times the behavior occurred). This is a type of interval recording. |
This procedure tends to produce a slight underestimate of the presence of the target behavior and should be used when the goal is to produce an increase in behavior. |
A data sheet is divided into appropriate, equal intervals (e.g., 30 seconds, 5 minutes, etc.); if behavior occurs during the whole interval, it is marked once (and only once). |
Momentary Time Sampling |
Records the presence or absence of behaviors at a specific interval (not concerned with how many times the behavior occurred). This is a type of interval recording. |
Momentary time sampling provides an estimate of the number of occurrences. Can be useful for teachers since there is no need to continuously monitor for occurrence of behavior. |
A data sheet is divided into appropriate, equal intervals (e.g., 5 minutes, 15 minutes, etc.); if behavior occurs at the specified interval, it is marked once (and only once). For example, every 15 minutes the teacher may look to see if a student is on task. |
Duration Recording |
Records the total time or percent of time that a behavior occurs within a specified time period. |
When it is important to know how long a behavior occurs, either to target an increase or decrease in behavior. Duration recording can be used to measure behaviors emitted at high rates. |
Begin timing when the behavior starts and stop timing when the behavior ends. The times can be added up and divided by number of occurrences to determine average duration. |
A-B-C Recording |
A narrative description of the target behavior, along with the antecedent (i.e., stimulus that preceded/triggered the behavior) and consequence that followed/was the result of the behavior. Additionally, any behavior that resulted from consequence can also be recorded. |
When the environment and contingencies surrounding the behavior need to be understood. |
When the target behavior occurs, document what happened immediately preceding (antecedent) and what happened immediately after (consequence). |
How do I know when to use which type of data collection?
Question of Interest |
How to Measure |
|---|---|
How often? |
Event Recording
Time Sampling (Intervals) |
How long? |
|
How long to begin the behavior? |
Latency |
What environmental variables? |
ABC Analysis |
