Citation

Kranak MP, Hall SS. Perspect. Behav. Sci. 2022; 45(1): 53-75.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s40614-021-00290-2

PMID

35342875

PMCID

PMC8894515

Abstract

Functional analysis (FA) is an integral component of behavioral assessment and treatment given that clinicians design behavioral treatments based on FA results. Unfortunately, the interrater reliability of FA data interpretation by visual analysis can be inconsistent, potentially leading to ineffective treatment implementation. Hall et al. (2020) recently developed automated nonparametric statistical analysis (ANSA) to facilitate the interpretation of FA data and Kranak et al. (2021) subsequently extended and validated ANSA by applying it to unpublished clinical data. The results of both Hall et al. and Kranak et al. support ANSA as an emerging statistical supplement for interpreting FA data. In the present article, we show how ANSA can be applied to interpret FA data collected in clinical settings in multielement and pairwise designs. We provide a detailed overview of the calculations involved, how to use ANSA in practice, and recommendations for its implementation. A free web-based application is available at https://ansa.shinyapps.io/ansa/.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40614-021-00290-2.

Language: en

Keywords

Statistical analysis; Functional analysis; Data interpretation; Visual analysis