Using Remote Behavioral Skills Training to Teach University Students Literature Searching Skills

Applied behavior analysis is grounded in the science of behavior analysis. As such, it is essential that emerging professionals develop effective literature-searching skills to engage with current research to inform evidence-based practices. It is fortunate that university library systems are a valuable resource for accessing scholarly literature; however, these systems can be challenging to navigate without explicit training. The present study evaluated the effects of a remote behavioral skills training intervention on the acquisition of literature-searching skills among university students enrolled in behavior analytic coursework. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline design across participants was used to evaluate the efficacy of the behavioral skills training intervention. Results demonstrated that, following behavioral skills training, six participants demonstrated improved accuracy in navigating the university library system and completing literature searches as compared to baseline performance. These findings support the use of remote behavioral skills training to teach literature searching skills that are vital prerequisite skills for developing research and scholarly competencies. Remote behavioral skills training can be an effective strategy for teaching students/trainees to navigate searching in the library system.All participants demonstrated increases in the percentage of correctly completed task analysis steps and number of articles located/searches completed.Analyses of training duration indicated that some participants required multiple hours of practice, which may have implications for investing time into teaching research skills.Remote behavioral skills training may represent a valuable competency-based training approach that can be used to support online university students.