Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) are an essential component of structured interviews. Use of BARS to evaluate interviewees' performance is associated with greater predictive validity and reliability and less bias. BARS are time-consuming and expensive to construct, however. This report explores the feasibility of gathering participants'…

Describing the state of the science of ABA, this comprehensive handbook provides detailed information about theory, research, and intervention. The contributors are leading ABA authorities who present current best practices in behavioral assessment and demonstrate evidence-based strategies for supporting positive behaviors and reducing problem…

Interaction data from 96 married couples in which the husband was an alcoholic, depressive, or normal control were coded with Marital Interaction Coding System and subjected to multidimensional scaling, principle components analysis, and transitional probability analyses. Resulting solutions indicated several clusters common across methods and…

This monograph reviews studies which have measured and compared classroom and other human behaviors occurring in different cultures and nations, points out problems related to the comparisons made, and describes procedures which can be used to help standardize measurements of behavior made using systematic observation instruments. Standardization…

Three methods used in applied behavioral analysis research and appropriate for conducting a functional assessment of problem behavior in persons with mental retardation are described. They are informant assessment (e.g., behavioral interviews, rating scales, and questionnaires), direct observation assessment, and experimental analysis. (Author/DB)

The frequency of occurrence of targeted environmental events during both unstructured and structured descriptive analyses conducted with two children with severe mental retardation was compared. Results showed that procedural modifications employed during the structured descriptive analysis increased the frequency of occurrence for most targeted…

Direct observation in natural settings has been recognized for nearly a century as an important methodology to capture the nuances of children's behavior for research, clinical assessment, and program evaluation. These ecologically valid descriptive data complement more widely used behavior rating scales to evaluate the impact of intervention…

This study focused on the problem-solving of family groups including an adolescent diabetic. The study sought to: compare three methods used to identify and analyze phases in family problem-solving interactions, establish criteria to evaluate the methods, utilize the criteria to evaluate the three methods, and select a method. The three methods…

This document includes three papers which address the special demands that supported employment places on vocational evaluation and assessment practices. An introductory chapter by Frank Rusch et al. discusses target populations of the Illinois Supported Employment Program, program evaluation, degree of program implementation, and costs and…