Behavior Analysis: Research and Practice, Vol 23(1), Feb 2023, 1-14; doi:10.1037/bar0000248
Functional analysis (FA) is used to identify environmental variables that serve to maintain problem behavior. Functional analyses are typically interpreted using visual inspection of single-case design graphs, despite some evidence suggesting that the subjective nature of visual analysis can result in disagreement about the results of an FA. Saini et al. (2018) introduced ongoing visual inspection (OVI) as a strategy to increase the objectivity of interpreting FAs in real-time, by using structured criterion lines to evaluate the presence and absence of a function. However, that study relied on published FAs to determine the validity and efficiency of OVI, which could overestimate the utility of OVI in practice. We evaluated the validity and efficiency of OVI using clinical FA data sets from a school-based program for children with severe behavior disorders. Using clinicians as visual analysts, we obtained results consistent with prior findings: OVI produced a high degree of agreement between interim and final conclusions drawn from FA data sets. Furthermore, OVI produced a 39% increase in efficiency compared to posthoc strategies. We discuss the implications of OVI for use in practice and provide recommendations for future research on practical applications of structured visual inspection criteria. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)