Are Keynote and Invited Speakers at State Behavior Analytic Conferences Experts on Their Presentation Topics?

Board Certified Behavior Analysts® (BCBA®s) must acquire 32 continuing education units (CEUs) every two years. One way BCBAs obtain CEUs is by attending their state chapter conferences, which feature keynote speakers and invited speakers who disseminate information in their respective areas of presumed scientific expertise. This study evaluated 735 CEU presentations provided by keynote and invited speakers at state conferences in the United States for 2021, 2022, and 2023. For each keynote and invited presentation, researchers used Google Scholar to count the speakers' (a) peer-reviewed publications on their presentation topic and (b) total peer-reviewed publications. In part, the results across all three years indicate that 31% of speakers had zero topic-specific publications. Notably, the percentage of speakers with zero topic-specific publications concerningly increased across the three years. Results also indicate nearly 40% of speakers with zero topic-specific publications did not have any peer-reviewed publications. We discuss the potential implications of the findings and suggest actions for offsetting the current trend.