MOMENTARY TIME SAMPLING AS AN ESTIMATE OF PERCENTAGE TIME: A FIELD VALIDATION
- 1 December 1990
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
- Vol. 23 (4), 533-537
- https://doi.org/10.1901/jaba.1990.23-533
Abstract
This study examined the percentage time estimates of momentary time sampling against the real time obtained with handheld computers in a natural setting. Twenty-two concurrent observations were conducted in elementary schools by one observer who used 15-s momentary time sampling and a second who used a handheld computer. Results for the six behaviors showed a close correspondence between the momentary time sampling percentage observation intervals and the real time percentage observation time, although 15-s momentary time sampling tended not to sample low-frequency short-duration behaviors. The results confirmed laboratory findings that short-interval momentary time sampling estimates percentage time accurately for a wide range of behavior frequencies and durations, and suggested that observers using momentary time sampling in a natural setting are able to obtain accurate data.Keywords
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