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| A two-phase experimental design consisting of a pre-treatment baseline condition (A) followed by a treatment condition (B). |
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Term
| affirmation of the consequent |
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Definition
A three-step form of reasoning that begins with a true antecedent-consequent (if-A-then-B) statement and proceeds as follows:
(1) If A is true, then B is true
(2) B is found to be true
(3) Therefore, A is true.
Although other factors could be responsible for the truthfulness of A, a sound experiment affirms several if-A-then-B possibilities, each one reducing the likelihood of factors other than the independent variable being responsible for the observed changes in behavior. |
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Definition
| A data path that shows an increasing trend in the response measure over time. |
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Definition
| A condition of an experiment in which the independent variable is not present; data obtained during this are the basis for determining the effects of the independent variable; a control condition that does not necessarily mean the absence of instruction or treatment, only the absence of a specific independent variable of experimental interest. |
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Definition
| A term sometimes used to refer to the experimental reasoning inherent in single-subject experimental designs; entail three elements: prediction, verification and replication. |
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| An uncontrolled factor known or suspected to exert influence on the dependent variable. |
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Definition
| The variable in an experiment measured to determine if it changes as a result of manipulations of the independent variable; in applied behavior analysis, it represents some measure of a socially significant behavior. |
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Definition
| A data path that shows a decreasing trend in the response measure over time. |
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Term
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Definition
Two meanings:
(a) the outcome of an experiment that demonstrates convincingly a functional relation, meaning that it is achieved when a predictable change in behavior (the DV) can be reliably produced by manipulation a specific aspect of the environment (the IV).
(b) the extent to which a researcher maintains precise control of the independent variable by presenting it, withdrawing it, and/or varying its value, and also by eliminating or holding constant all confounding and extraneous variables. |
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Definition
| The particular type and sequence of conditions in a study so that meaningful comparisons of the effects of the presence and absence (or different values) of the independent variable can be made. |
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Definition
| A statement of what the researcher seeks to learn by conducting the experiment; may be presented in question form and is most often found in a published account as a statement of the experiment's purpose. All aspects of the experimental design should follow from this. |
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Definition
| The degree to which a study's findings have generality to other subjects, settings, and/or behaviors. |
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Definition
| Any aspect of the experimental setting (e.g., lighting, temperature) that must be held constant to prevent unplanned environmental variation. |
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Definition
| The variable that is systematically manipulated by the researcher in an experiment to see whether changes in it produce reliable changes in the dependent variable (DV). In applied behavior analysis, it is usually an environmental event or condition antecedent or consequent to the dependent variable. Sometimes called the intervention or treatment variable. |
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Definition
| The extent to which an experiment shows convincingly that changes in behavior are a function of the independent variable and not the result of uncontrolled or unknown variables. |
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Definition
| An experiment designed to discover the differential effects of a range of values of an independent variable. |
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Definition
| Improvements in performance resulting from opportunities to perform a behavior repeatedly so that baseline measures can be obtained. |
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Definition
| A statement of the anticipated outcome of a presently unknown or future measurement; one of three components of the experimental reasoning, or baseline logic, used in sing-subject research designs. |
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Definition
(a) Repeating conditions within an experiment to determine the reliability of effects and increase internal validity.
(b) Repeating whole experiments to determine the generality of findings of previous experiments to other subjects, settings, and/or behaviors. |
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Definition
| A wide variety of research designs that use a form of experimental reasoning called baseline logic to demonstrate the effects of the independent variable on the behavior of individual subjects. (Also called sing-case, within subject, or intra-subject designs) |
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Definition
| Data that show no evidence of an upward or downward trend; all of the measures fall within a relatively small range of values. |
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| A pattern of responding that exhibits relatively little variation in its measured dimensional quantities over a period of time. |
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Definition
| Repeatedly exposing a subject to a given condition while trying to eliminate or control extraneous influences on the behavior and obtaining a stable pattern of responding before introducing the next condition. |
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Definition
| Data points that do not consistently fall within a narrow range of values and do not suggest any clear trend. |
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Term
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Definition
| One of the three components of the experimental reasoning, or baseline logic, used in single-subject research designs; accomplished by demonstrating that the prior level of baseline responding would have remained unchanged had the independent variable not been introduced. It reduces the probability that some uncontrolled variable was responsible for the observed change in behavior. |
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