Kahng, S., Iwata, B. A., Fischer, S. M., Page, T. J., Treadwell, K. R. H., Williams, D. E., & Smith, R. G. (1998).
Temporal distributions of problem behavior based on scatter plot analysis.
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis,
31, 593-604.
The scatter plot is a commonly used assessment tool for
identifying temporal patterns in the occurrence of behavior
problems. However, the extent to which such patterns are
frequently observed is unknown because little research has
evaluated the general utility of the scatter plot. We conducted a
large-scale analysis of within- and across-day occurrences of
problem behavior by conducting continuous observations of 20
individuals living in four residential facilities. Data were
recorded during 30-min intervals throughout participants' waking
hours for 30 days by direct care staff and were converted into
scatter plot formats. Five sets of data were excluded from
further analysis due to poor interobserver agreement (below 80%).
Visual analysis of the remaining 15 scatter plots indicated that
none showed any reliable temporal pattern of responding. However,
when the data were transformed into aggregate "control
charts" based on statistical process control procedures, 12
of the 15 sets of data revealed one or more 30-min intervals
during which problem behavior was more likely to occur. Results
are discussed in terms of the practicality of applying
statistical analyses to scatter plot data and of collecting data
for the length of time needed to show statistical significance.
It was concluded that detailed functional or descriptive
analyses, which would reveal cause-effect or correlational
relationships between behavior and specific environmental events,
may be both more precise and more efficient forms of assessment.
DESCRIPTORS: behavior problems, behavioral assessment,
descriptive analysis, observation procedures, scatter plot,
statistical process control