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Observation

Observation. KNR 279 Stumbo, 2002. Observation as Assessment. Therapist observes client’s behaviors Directly Indirectly Primary reason is to record behavior Not perceptions/thoughts/feelings/motives like in interview Looks at behavior in as real life situations as possible

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Observation

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  1. Observation KNR 279 Stumbo, 2002

  2. Observation as Assessment • Therapist observes client’s behaviors • Directly • Indirectly • Primary reason is to record behavior • Not perceptions/thoughts/feelings/motives like in interview • Looks at behavior in as real life situations as possible • Typically uses recording systems to shorten time recording observations • Advantages? Disadvantages?

  3. ADVANTAGES • Record behaviors that occur naturally in the environment • Generalize behaviors to community • Can be used with children or others with verbal or thought processing problems

  4. DISADVANTAGES • Cost in staff time • Fitting observer unobtrusively into setting • Potential subjectivity or bias of observer • Determining meaningful behaviors to observe • Inability to determine meaning

  5. Systematic Observation • Differs from casual observation • Has a specific purpose • Collect data about clients • Targets certain behaviors • Records behaviors systematically • Has concerns of reliability & validity

  6. USE SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION TO: • Document typical client performance or behavior • Document unusual behavior • Confirm results of another assessment • Triangulation • Compare clients’ behaviors

  7. Steps to Developing Systematic Observations • Determine sample behavior that is important to observe • Determine procedures for collecting, organizing, & analyzing data • Who, where, for how long, under what circumstances, how many occasions • Record behavior immediately to minimize dependence on memory & preserve detail of behavior • Determine conditions under which behavior will be observed • Natural (e.g., community outing) or contrived • Obtrusive or unobtrusive • Mechanical (e.g., videotape) or human

  8. Steps to Developing Systematic Observations • Determine data collection instrument • Recording methods • Recording techniques • Pilot test • Reliability • Validity • Protocol • Train staff as observers

  9. OBSERVATIONAL RECORDING METHODS • Checklists • Rating scales • Anecdotal records • Critical incident reports

  10. CHECKLISTS • Record if present or absent • Useful to assess mastery of concrete learning tasks • Leave little room for interpretations • Easy to administer, score, interpret • Inter-rater reliability tends to be high • Difficult to define behaviors

  11. RATING SCALE • Similar to checklists, but can indicate degree • Fairly easy to administer and score if well-constructed • Hard to construct • Personal biases enter into rating • Between 4-6 points should be provided

  12. ANECDOTAL RECORDS • Provide snapshots of actual behavior in natural situations that are significant indicator of total behavior • Allows recording of environment, antecedents, and consequences of behaviors • Allow recording in non-standardized form • Can be time consuming • Hard to be objective

  13. ANECDOTAL RECORDS cont. • Difficulty in deciding level of detail to record • Inconsistent wording used • Difficulty collating and analyzing • Determine in advance what to observe, but be alert for unusual behavior • Develop procedures for coding • Train observers

  14. Critical Incident Reports • Differ from anecdotal records • Used to record unusual situations/behaviors • Recording antecedents, behavior, and consequences is required • Factual information kept separate from interpretation • Often used in SRAs for behavior management plans • See Stumbo, 2002, p. 229

  15. OBSERVATION RECORDING TECHNIQUES • Frequency/tally • Duration • Interval • Instantaneous time sampling

  16. Frequency/Tally • Records number of times a behavior occurs • Behavior needs to be clearly defined • Need to determine if behaviors are significant enough to observe • Can use if observe more than one person at a time • See Stumbo, 2002, p. 230

  17. Duration • Used when length of behavior is important • Stop watch can be used • Behaviors must be clearly defined & observable for a period of time • See Stumbo, 2002, p. 231

  18. Interval • Focuses on frequency and duration of behaviors • Determine size of intervals on basis of how often the behavior occurs • If behavior occurs in interval, mark is recorded • Stumbo, 2002, p. 232

  19. Instantaneous Time Sampling • Used when observer enters & exits observation area periodically • Observer does not have time for lengthy observation • Many individuals can be observed at once • Patterns of behavior is important • Look for absence or presence of behavior • See Stumbo, 2002, p. 233

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