evaluating interventions Flashcards
what is assessment?
- the systematic measurement of the impact an intervention has on someone
- highly important in any intervention where we want to see change
- can tell us if an intervention is having the intended effects
what does assessment not show?
- what caused the change
- this is extremely important if we want to apply an intervention to other people beyond one client
what is a research design?
how are the conditions arranged so that one can make assumptions on how the intervention was responsible for the changes.
where is research design mostly done?
- experimental group research
- usually done with a group that receives no treatment, a placebo group, and a group that receives regular treatment
what is between-group research?
people are randomly placed into groups and are measured before and after the intervention to see if there are similarities or differences.
where are applied interventions used?
single-case experimental designs.
what is data evaluation?
- looking at the data and seeing if the changes made during the intervention were successful
- is the data different across different situations
what is statistical analysis used for?
- seeing changes that might be hard to see with our eyes, or changes that appear to be small
- analyzed based on a bunch of factors, like probability level, to see if the differences are due to the intervention
why is it important to see if a behavior change can be extended to other areas of a client’s life?
- to help their functioning as much as possible
- knowing what caused the change can help us maximize the benefits
what is a single-case experimental design?
- the arrangements used to draw inferences about the impact of an intervention
- usually observes client several days before intervention
why are single-case experimental designs functional?
- they demonstrate what can happen when altering the experimental condition
- does it change behavior
why are single-case experimental designs individualized?
it tailors the intervention to that person.
what the most important requirement of single-case experimental designs?
- repeated observations of performance overtime.
- client’s performance is observed many times (usually daily) before, during, and after the intervention
- allows observers to examine performance and how it changed with the intervention
what is the baseline phase?
- the initial observation before the intervention.
- it can tell us about the level of behavior beforehand
what is a descriptive baseline function?
describes the rate of the client’s behavior beforehand.
what is a predictive baseline function?
predicts future behavior if the intervention is not implemented.
how can we tell if performance is stabilized?
characterized by the absence of a trend (or slope) in the data and little variability in performance.
why is it important for behavior to be stabilized in the baseline phase?
so we can later see if there was an impact caused by the intervention.
what are trends in data?
the tendency for performance to increase or decrease consistently over time.
why are trends problematic?
if a behavior that we want to decrease is already decreasing in the baseline phase it can make it harder to tell if the intervention was effective.
what is the most ideal baseline?
a stable one with little to no change in behavior.
how do we know if an intervention will last?
- has good stimulus control
- someone is learning a new behavior that is reinforced so it becomes easier and is maintained with weaker reinforcers
what is variability in data?
the fluctuation or stability in the subject’s performance overtime.
why is variability in data problematic?
it can make it difficult to draw conclusions if an intervention worked.
what is ABAB/reversal designs?
- family of experimental arrangements in which observations of performance are made overtime about a client
- examines the effects of an intervention by altering between the baseline condition (A phase), when no intervention is in effect, and with the intervention condition (B phase)
- this is repeated again to complete four phases (hence ABAB)
what do ABAB/reversal designs always begin with?
- the baseline phase to see if pre rate behavior will remain stable
- helps us to observe current behavior and predict future behavior if intervention is not there
- should only move forward if behavior is stable
what happens during the intervention phase in an ABAB/reversal design?
we test to see if there will be a difference from the predicted behavior and the predicted behavior after the intervention.
what happens in the third phase (second A) in an ABAB/reversal design?
- intervention is withdrawn and baseline conditions are restored
- describes current performance and predicts what future behavior will look like if it continues
- asks if behavior will still look the same with the first intervention having taken place
what happens in the final phase (second B) in an ABAB/reversal design?
- it describes performance, testing if it departs from the previous phase behavior (the pre-rate), and if it is the same as the previous intervention phase.
what is an AB design?
- one baseline and one intervention
- not usually considered to be a configuration as it does not provide a description, prediction, or test of predictions
what are AB designs associated with?
level changes, transitional phases, or both.
why are AB designs problematic?
- we are not sure if the change is due to other factors
- possible regression towards the mean (extreme behavior that is more likely to become average overtime because the extreme behavior is not ordinary)
what is an ABA/BAB design?
- baseline, intervention, baseline (ABA)
- intervention, baseline, intervention (BAB)
- there are at least two phases of the same to show a return to something, whether that be the baseline or intervention