MALKA214 Experimental Design and Functional Analysis Course description

Single-case research designs and functional analyses are characteristics of behavior analysis. Their historical and scientific basis are covered in MALK4000-403 (Behavior Analysis and Radical Behaviorism); the application in experimental settings in MALKA213 (Laboratory Exercises — Experimental Analysis of Behavior).These experimental methods are used in order to demonstrate functional relations between changes in independent variables and their effects on dependent variables. The topics of this course are theoretical and practical concerns of experimental designs in general, and basic concepts, principles, and methods of statistics.

Coursework requirements from MALK4000-401, MALK4000-403, and MALKA211, or equivalent must be approved to participate and submit coursework requirements in MALKA214.

On successful completion of the course, the student has the following learning outcomes classified as knowledge, skills and competence:

Knowledge

The student can

• discuss reliability
• discuss the term generality
• discuss validity, threats to inference, and different types of validity
• explain the role of replications when employing experimental designs
• discuss variability related to single subject designs and group-designs
• describe and discuss advantages and disadvantages of various experimental designs
• explain repeated measurements and when to conduct such measurements
• describe how to conduct a component analysis to decide the effective components in treatments
• consider how to conduct a parametric analysis to determine which values of consequences, like size and duration, are effective
• describe fundamental elements of inferential statistics
• describe and discuss functional analysis of behavior and describe how to conduct such analysis
• describe the basic principles for hypothesis testing using the binominal and normal distributions

Skills

The student can

• design simple experiments
• interpret graphical displays of behavioral data and to present data in graphical form

Competence

The student can

• analyze data in a behavior change project

In the BSCA specialisation, campus-based lectures, discussions and exercises are the main teaching methods. Students read selected texts in advance for each day of class, and everyone is expected to participate in class through questions and through joining in discussion. In the BSII specialisation, the main teaching method is digital course sequences, and feedback on details of course content, and supervised discussion groups will be available during pre-determined time periods. Feedback on written assignments is used in both specialisations. Students must have download and installed SPSS on their computers before the course starts

The following required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam:

• 2 individual assignments submitted digitally, each with maximum 12.000 keystrokes

Individual home examination, 4 hours. Exam questions are in English. Students may submit their exams in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish or English. 

All

Grade scale A-F

One internal and one external examiner will assess all exams.