ABA Exam CoachLessons · C. Measurement, Data Display, and Interpretation
C.5 · Continuous and discontinuous measurement procedures
Your observer watched the whole session, so the data has to be continuous, right? Not necessarily, and sorting that out is what C.5 is all about. Let's make continuous versus discontinuous measurement click.
Key takeaway
Continuous measurement can detect every instance of the behavior across the whole observation, so it's continuous. That covers event recording (count and rate), duration, latency, and IRT. Discontinuous measurement samples intervals or moments. That covers partial-interval, whole-interval, momentary time sampling, and PLACHECK. These procedures give you a percentage of intervals, not a true count or a true duration. Partial-interval tends to overestimate, whole-interval tends to underestimate, and MTS can miss in either direction.
Continuous measurement can detect every instance of the behavior across the whole observation, so it's continuous. That covers event recording (count and rate), duration, latency, and IRT. Discontinuous measurement samples intervals or moments. That covers partial-interval, whole-interval, momentary time sampling, and PLACHECK. These procedures give you a percentage of intervals, not a true count or a true duration. Partial-interval tends to overestimate, whole-interval tends to underestimate, and MTS can miss in either direction.
Members get the full lesson video, notes and a 5-question test
The video walks through the idea, worked examples, the trap people fall into and an exam-style question. The notes and the checkpoint come with it, and your results feed your Where to focus plan.