Overcoming Barriers to Applied Research: A Guide for Practitioners
Fifteen scheduled minutes of weekly data collection and peer sharing can turn everyday ABA sessions into clinic-based research.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Valentino et al. (2020) sent a survey to working BCBAs. They asked what stops them from doing small studies in their own clinics.
The team then listed the top roadblocks and paired each one with a quick action any clinician can try.
What they found
The biggest barrier was time. Staff feel they have no minutes left to collect extra data.
The fix is tiny: schedule a standing 15-minute block each week. Use it to count one fidelity or outcome measure.
Share the number with coworkers the same day. This keeps the task short and social.
How this fits with other research
Vroom et al. (2022) push the same idea further. They tell agencies to build systems that make the 15-minute habit part of daily work.
Pickard et al. (2024) show the detail behind the barrier. Their interviews reveal that staff trained only in DTT keep using DTT even when they like NDBI. The weekly 15-minute check can catch this stuck pattern early.
Twyman (2025) gives a full roadmap. After you master the single data point, move through pilot, adapt, and scale steps to spread any new practice across a school or clinic.
Why it matters
You do not need a grant or extra staff to start research. Pick one routine case, set a timer for 15 minutes, and track one thing that matters to the client. Post the result on the staff-room board. This tiny loop turns you from a service provider into a scientist-practitioner while you keep doing your normal job.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The research-to-practice gap is evident in many disciplines. This gap can be seen through practitioners failing to integrate the latest research findings into their work, and through the implementation of procedures that do not have empirical support. As the number of behavior-analytic practitioners grows, this gap is likely to become more salient. One solution to closing the gap is for practitioners to conduct applied research. This survey study aimed to identify specific barriers that practitioners face when conducting research, to identify how valuable conducting research is to practitioners, and to make recommendations to support research productivity in practice. We report results from survey questions about applied research and provide practical recommendations for practitioners to overcome barriers and to begin conducting research during their clinical work.
Behavior Analysis in Practice, 2020 · doi:10.1007/s40617-020-00479-y