Your supervisor tells you that you will be doing partial-interval recording for rubbing hands. When will you record an instance of the behavior? If rubbing hands occurs at the end of the interval If rubbing hands occurs during the entire interval If rubbing hands occurs at the beginning of the interval If rubbing hands occurs at all during the interval
The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
Correct Answer: If rubbing hands occurs at all during the interval
Explanation:
Partial-interval recording is a behavioral data collection method used to monitor whether a specific behavior occurs at any point during a designated time interval. It is especially useful for measuring behaviors that are frequent, brief, or do not have a clear beginning and end. In partial-interval recording, the observer marks an occurrence if the target behavior happens at any moment within the interval, regardless of how long it lasts or when it starts or ends.
For example, if a 10-second interval is used and the behavior of rubbing hands occurs for just two seconds during that time — whether at the beginning, middle, or end — the observer would record that the behavior occurred during that interval. If the behavior happens throughout the entire interval, it is still marked as occurring, just the same as if it happened only briefly. On the other hand, if the behavior does not happen at all within the time frame, then it is marked as not occurring.
This method is commonly used because it is relatively quick and easy to implement in real-time situations. However, partial-interval recording can sometimes overestimate the actual duration or frequency of a behavior since any occurrence during the interval results in the entire interval being marked. Despite this limitation, it is still widely used in behavioral assessments to identify patterns and track changes in behavior over time.
In your case, since the target behavior is rubbing hands, you will mark an occurrence for any interval in which hand rubbing occurs, even if it lasts for only a moment. This approach helps in identifying trends and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions in behavioral settings.
