SPCE 315: Advanced Behavior Analysis

You have two behavior change programs in SPCE 315 which you must design.  Library research will help each of them go more smoothly.

On this opening page, you'll find general search advice for the field of behavior analysis.  Scroll down to learn about the library databases that will be the most helpful in your field.

Consult the following pages for more tailored research advice for each of the behavior change projects:

• Research tips for Functional Behavior Assessments Project
• Research tips for Behavior Intervention Plan Project

For starters, please remember that doing library research can take a long time.  Allow yourself a big chunk of time, so that you can find the resources you need.  And remember that some documents may need to be requested from other libraries (through Interlibrary Loan), which takes several days.

Additionally, bear in mind that research is an iterative process, requiring you to continually search, evaluate and revise.  As you search and read what you've found, you're able to improve your searches using terms and ideas you've found in your results.

When you're doing academic research, start on the Ball State University Libraries' homepage.  Then look for the Databases link.  Use the options under the "Subjects" drop-down menu to explore the available resources.

There are two principle research databases in the field of applied behavior analysis: ERIC (under the Education category) and APA PsycINFO (under the Psychology category).  Try both of them, but depending on your topic, you may find that one is more helpful than the other.

While you can use the same general search techniques in both databases, be alert for differences in terms used.

The words you use as your search terms have a big effect on the relevance of the results that you get.  So choose carefully!

• Start with terms used in the topic description.
• Then think of other ways you can describe that topic such as: 
  • direct synonyms (ex. teenagers, adolescents)
  • related terms (ex. mainstreaming, inclusion)
  • broader or more specific terms (ex. autism, developmental disorders)

• It may be helpful to consult:
  • a thesaurus,
  • class readings,
  • titles or description of articles you find in a database that look promising.  Subject headings are super-helpful!

Unlike Google and OneSearch, library research databases like ERIC and PsycINFO assign subject headings to each record, indicating the focus of the article.

When you're trying to come up with good terms to search on, the Subjects field is the place to look!

When searching in a database, put quotes around phrases of two or more words where it's important to keep the words together.  Then your words will be searched as a unit; it prevents the database from searching for the words individually.

So, when searching on a topic this can be important.  Here are some examples:

• "zero tolerance"
• "experimental function"
• "applied behavior analysis"

It's also helpful when searching for a title -- of a governmental act, an organization, an article, as shown here:

• "education for all handicapped children"
• "national autism center"
• "evidence-based practice in autism educational research: can we bridge the research and practice gap"