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J Appl Behav Anal. 1968 Summer; 1(2): 175–191.
doi: 10.1901/jaba.1968.1-175.
PMCID: PMC1310995
A method to integrate descriptive and experimental field studies at the level of data and empirical concepts1
Sidney W. Bijou, Robert F. Peterson, and Marion H. Ault
University of Illinois
1The formulation presented here was generated from the research conducted under grants from the U. S. Public Health Service, National Institute of Mental Health (M-2208, M-2232, and MH-12067), and from the U. S. Office of Education, Handicapped Children and Youth Branch (Grant No. 32-23-1020-6002, Proposal No. R-006). Reprints may be obtained from Sidney W. Bijou, Child Behavior Laboratory, University of Illinois, 403 East Healey, Champaign, Illinois 61820.
Abstract
It is the thesis of this paper that data from descriptive and experimental field studies can be interrelated at the level of data and empirical concepts if both sets are derived from frequency-of-occurrence measures. The methodology proposed for a descriptive field study is predicated on three assumptions: (1) The primary data of psychology are the observable interactions of a biological organism and environmental events, past and present. (2) Theoretical concepts and laws are derived from empirical concepts and laws, which in turn are derived from the raw data. (3) Descriptive field studies describe interactions between behavioral and environmental events; experimental field studies provide information on their functional relationships. The ingredients of a descriptive field investigation using frequency measures consist of: (1) specifying in objective terms the situation in which the study is conducted, (2) defining and recording behavioral and environmental events in observable terms, and (3) measuring observer reliability. Field descriptive studies following the procedures suggested here would reveal interesting new relationships in the usual ecological settings and would also provide provocative cues for experimental studies. On the other hand, field-experimental studies using frequency measures would probably yield findings that would suggest the need for describing new interactions in specific natural situations.
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Selected References
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  • Hawkins RP, Peterson RF, Schweid E, Bijou SW. Behavior therapy in the home: amelioration of problem parent-child relations with the parent in a therapeutic role. J Exp Child Psychol. 1966 Sep;4(1):99–107. [PubMed]
  • Johnston MK, Kelley CS, Harris FR, Wolf MM. An application of reinforcement principles to development of motor skills of a young child. Child Dev. 1966 Jun;37(2):379–387. [PubMed]