Combine Count with Duration to create shorter observation periods
This article will guide you through setting up a count/rate target to track the frequency of a behavior over a specified period, particularly useful for high-frequency behaviors or when the behavior is not measured throughout the entire session. This approach is helpful if you know the client frequently naps during sessions or participates in another therapy during the session timeframe where behavior isn’t monitored. For instance, if you want to measure self-stimulatory behaviors within a 10-minute period and have the data displayed as a rate per hour, you can use both the Count and Duration instruments to gather this information.
The Duration instrument can work alongside Count to establish a specific data collection interval for calculating frequency/rate. This is beneficial if you don’t want the entire Motivity session duration to influence the rate calculation.
Example 1: To track a high-frequency behavior like Mouthing during a limited session segment, you can set a specific timeframe for tracking. Data collectors will only record the behavior during this interval, and the rate will be calculated based on that time.
Example 2: If your session runs from 10 AM to 3 PM, but your client often takes 30-60 minute naps in between, you can select a "Manual" duration. This allows data collectors to input the actual time the behavior was measured that day.
To set this up, you will start by adding a new count target:
You will then open the "Measures and Instructions" and add a duration measure below the existing count measure.
If you prefer your data collectors to follow a preset interval, select "Fixed" and specify the desired time. This will prevent any changes to the opportunity duration during data collection. If the actual measurement duration varies frequently, such as in the case where the client naps for varying durations each day, choose "Manual".
"Use to track opportunity duration" must be checked, and "Affects outcome" must be unchecked.
In the simulation, you will see that for example entering a frequency of 20 and a duration of 4 hours will result in a rate of 5 per hour:
