Teaching behavior technicians to create publication-quality, single-case design graphs in graphpad prism 7.

Area of Science:

• Behavior analysis
• Scientific visualization
• Research methodology

Background:

• Effective data visualization is crucial in single-case designs.
• Standardized graphing practices enhance research reproducibility and clarity.
• Training behavior technicians in advanced graphing techniques is often challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify essential features for publication-quality single-case design graphs.
• To evaluate GraphPad Prism as a tool for creating these graphs.
• To develop and validate a video-modeling tutorial for training graphing skills.

Main Methods:

• Literature review to define desirable graphing features.
• Assessment of GraphPad Prism's capabilities for implementing these features.
• Multiple-baseline design to evaluate a video-modeling tutorial for behavior technicians.
• Measurement of graphing accuracy, efficiency, and social validity.

Main Results:

• Nine commonly recommended features for single-case design graphs were identified.
• GraphPad Prism was found to facilitate the creation of graphs with these features.
• The video-modeling tutorial led to mastery-level graphing accuracy and increased efficiency in all technicians.
• Trained technicians maintained skills at follow-up without direct expert feedback.
• Post-training graphs were rated as significantly better than publication quality.

Conclusions:

• A clear set of features for publication-quality single-case design graphs was established.
• GraphPad Prism is a suitable software for generating high-quality graphs.
• Video-modeling is an effective and efficient method for training behavior technicians in complex graphing skills.
• This approach addresses challenges in staff training for research methodology.