Publication Date

Summer 2016

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Elizabeth Jones (Director), Carl Myers, Samuel Kim

Degree Program

Department of Psychology

Degree Type

Specialist in Education

Abstract

Brief experimental analysis (BEA) has shown to be an effective method of rapidly testing the relative effects of two or more interventions in order to determine interventions that best supports a student’s learning. Little research has been found in regards to the consistency of methods across studies. A meta-analysis in 2008 by Burns and Wagner looked at BEAs that assessed oral reading fluency and provided recommendations for future practice. This study investigates the methods, procedures, and outcomes in BEA studies from 1994 to 2016. The findings of this study are compared to Burns and Wagner’s (2008) recommendations from their meta-analysis, as well as used to discuss the shifts and consistencies found in BEA methodology over the past 23 years. There is not sufficient evidence that Burns and Wagner’s (2008) recommendations have greatly impacted the process of BEA, but there have been changes in predominant methodological components of BEA such as the explicit use of conceptual models, methods of assessing interventions, and the emergence of a problem solving model to inform intervention selection. A general increase in the publication rate and a shift to publication in school psychology journals over behavioral journals was also noted. BEA outcomes continue to support its utility for informing instruction.

Disciplines

Applied Behavior Analysis | Psychology | School Psychology

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