ABSTRACT

This chapter describes dependent measures common to conducting research in educational, clinical, and community settings. It explores how to select the most appropriate dependent measures and suggested how to design data collection for applied research studies. The type of dependent measure selected will depend on the target behavior and the intervention target. The nature of the dependent measure and the complexity of the intervention measurement system will influence how researchers collect data. The dependent variable selected will relate directly to the research question and the objective of the intervention. The chapter examines dependent measures and systems related to counting occurrences of behavior and duration of behavior. It also describes techniques for estimating count and/or duration when more precise or accurate means of measurement are not possible or practical. The choice of duration as a dependent measure is appropriate when the dimension of interest is related to for how long a behavior occurs once initiated.