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J Appl Behav Anal. 1979 Winter; 12(4): 573–579.
doi: 10.1901/jaba.1979.12-573.
PMCID: PMC1311483
Inconsistent visual analyses of intrasubject data
Anthony DeProspero and Stanley Cohen
Weston Hospital
West Virginia University
Abstract
Visual inspection has been the method of analysis most widely employed to evaluate the functional control demonstrated by any given set of intrasubject replication data. To identify the influence of certain graphic characteristics on these evaluative behaviors, 36 “ABAB reversal” figures were constructed. They were sent to 250 reviewers of behavioral journals. Their evaluation of each figure was expressed as a rating on a 100-point scale of “experimental control.” Mean interrater agreement was 0.61. In addition to this rating, a verbal description of evaluation criteria was requested. It was also found that graphic characteristics determine evaluative judgments in concert rather than singly. For example, phase mean changes had to be a pattern consistent with the hypothesized effect of the experimental variables, while degrees of mean shift and variability were less important. A description of the following evaluative criteria was presented: (a) topographic characteristics, (b) format of data presentation, (c) intra-experimental, and (d) extra-experimental circumstances.
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Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
  • Baer Donald M. "Perhaps it would be better not to know everything.". J Appl Behav Anal. 1977 Spring;10(1):167–172. [PubMed]
  • Jones Richard R, Weinrott Mark R, Vaught Russell S. Effects of serial dependency on the agreement between visual and statistical inference. J Appl Behav Anal. 1978 Summer;11(2):277–283. [PubMed]