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A method of documenting whether a behavior occurred during a brief time periods (e.g., 10 seconds), referred to intervals.
At the end of each of these intervals, the observer records whether or not a behavior has occurred.
When to Use It
When to Use It
When you are trying to measure of high frequency rate behavior
When you want to measure a behavior that is continuous
Interval recording often takes less time and effort, because the observer records the behavior only once during the interval, regardless of how many times the behavior occurs.
However, interval recording only provides an estimate of the actual number of times that a behavior occurs. If the intervals are too long (e.g., 1 hour), the results can overestimate the frequency of behavior. See example below
Momentary Interval/Time Sampling enables the observer to observe one or more behaviors of one or more students, even if the observer has other commitments during the day.
Instead of continuously looking for behavior, it gives the observer more time to record the observations and it is convenient when behavior cannot be observed continuously.
Momentary Interval Recording
Momentary Interval Recording
Records the presence or absence of behaviors immediately following specified time intervals
Easiest option for teachers
Provides an estimate of the number of occurrences and can also be used to estimate the duration of a behavior
Small samples of time (30 seconds) can be set up within larger intervals (5 minutes).
Instead of noting whether a behavior occurred or did not occur within an entire interval (5 minutes), the observer only looks at the student during a sample of time (30 seconds), usually at the beginning or end of an interval, and records whether the behavior is occurring at that instant or small sample of time.
Partial Interval Recording
Partial Interval Recording
Records whether the behavior was present or absent at any time during the interval
Not concerned with how many times the behavior occurred
This procedure tends to produce a slight overestimate of the presence of the target behavior
Should be used when the goal is to produce a behavior reduction
Whole Interval Recording
Whole Interval Recording
Behavior is recorded if it is present throughout the entire interval.
This procedure tends to produce a slight underestimate of the presence of the target behavior
Should be used only when the goal is to produce an increase in behavior
How to Collect the Data
How to Collect the Data
Momentary Time Sampling:
Operationally define the problem behavior
Determine the observation period (how long you will observe each time)
Break the observation period into intervals of time.
Depending on the behavior you may divide the time into 15/30/45 seconds or 1-5 minutes
At the end of each interval, record whether the behaviors is occurring at the end of the interval (may use + mark for yes, - mark for no)
At the end of the observation period, add all + marks and divide by the total intervals observed to get the percentage.
Partial Time Sampling:
Operationally define the problem behavior
Determine the observation period (how long you will observe each time)
Break the observation period into intervals of time.
Depending on the behavior you may divide the time into 15/30/45 seconds or 1-5 minutes
Record whether the behavior occurred at any time in during the interval (may use + mark for yes, - mark for no)
At the end of the observation period, add all + marks and divide by the total intervals observed to get the percentage.
Whole Interval Sampling:
Operationally define the problem behavior
Determine the observation period (how long you will observe each time)
Break the observation period into intervals of time.
Depending on the behavior you may divide the time into 15/30/45 seconds or 1-5 minutes
At the end of the interval, record whether the behavior occurred during the whole interval (may use + mark for yes, - mark for no)
At the end of the observation period, add all + marks and divide by the total intervals observed to get the percentage.
Momentary Time Sampling
Summarizing the Data:
Summarizing the Data:
When using interval recording, the level of the behavior is reported as the percentage of intervals in which the behavior occurred.
To calculate the % of intervals:
Add all + marks and divide by the total intervals observed to get the percentage.
Example: Mary was out of her seat during 4 out of 10 intervals 4 Ă· 10 = .40 x 100 =
Mary was out of her seat during 40% of intervals recorded during the observation.
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