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TIME‐SERIES ANALYSIS IN OPERANT RESEARCH 1
Author(s) -
Jones Richard R.,
Vaught Russell S.,
Weinrott Mark
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
journal of applied behavior analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1938-3703
pISSN - 0021-8855
DOI - 10.1901/jaba.1977.10-151
Subject(s) - operant conditioning , psychology , series (stratigraphy) , cognitive psychology , social psychology , reinforcement , paleontology , biology
A time‐series method is presented, nontechnically, for analysis of data generated in individual‐subject operant studies, and is recommended as a supplement to visual analysis of behavior change in reversal or multiple‐baseline experiments. The method can be used to identify three kinds of statistically significant behavior change: ( a ) changes in score levels from one experimental phase to another, ( b ) reliable upward or downward trends in scores, and ( c ) changes in trends between phases. The detection of, and reliance on, serial dependency (autocorrelation among temporally adjacent scores) in individual‐subject behavioral scores is emphasized. Examples of published data from the operant literature are used to illustrate the time‐series method.