By Matt Harrington, BCBA · Behaviorist Book Club · Research-backed answers for behavior analysts
The scientist-practitioner model characterizes behavior analysts as active contributors to the scientific knowledge base of their field, not only as consumers of research produced by others. This model was built into the founding definition of ABA by Baer, Wolf, and Risley, who described applied behavior analysis as a science conducted in socially significant settings. For clinical BCBAs, this means approaching clinical decisions with scientific rigor — defining behaviors operationally, collecting reliable data, evaluating treatment effects systematically — regardless of whether formal research is being conducted.
Clinical research in applied settings has higher ecological validity than laboratory research because it is conducted with actual clients, in real treatment contexts, by practitioners who maintain clinical as well as experimental conditions. This means findings are directly translatable to practice rather than requiring the 'translational gap' between controlled laboratory conditions and real-world application. The process of conducting research also improves clinical practice: greater measurement precision, more systematic evaluation of treatment effects, and more rigorous documentation all benefit clients regardless of whether the research is published.
Multiple baseline designs are frequently the best fit for clinical settings because they do not require removing an effective treatment to demonstrate experimental control — a critical advantage when client welfare is the clinical priority. Multiple baseline designs across participants, behaviors, or settings can be embedded in routine clinical work when participants with relevant profiles are available on the caseload. Alternating treatment designs are appropriate for comparing two interventions a client will receive regardless of the study, and can also be conducted within clinical contexts without withholding treatment.
Whenever client behavioral data collected in a clinical context are used for purposes beyond individual clinical care — including publication, presentation, or contribution to the scientific knowledge base — IRB review and documented research consent from participants or their guardians are required. The fact that data were originally collected clinically does not remove the research ethics obligations that apply when those data are used scientifically. BCBAs without institutional IRB access should seek review through university IRBs, which frequently provide community research services.
Strong clinical research questions emerge from clinical debates — decisions about which intervention to use, which measurement approach is most valid, or what factors predict better outcomes — for which existing literature provides insufficient guidance. Questions that the team encounters regularly, that have direct clinical implications, and that could be studied with the participant population and measurement resources available in the clinical setting are the best starting points. BCBAs should also review systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses in their specialty area, which explicitly identify evidence gaps that need to be filled.
A functional clinical research team needs: a lead researcher responsible for study design and coordination; primary data collectors who can collect behavioral data reliably during clinical sessions; at least one independent observer for inter-observer reliability data; a data analyst responsible for graphing and interpreting results; and a writing lead responsible for manuscript preparation and submission. In small teams, individuals can hold multiple roles. The critical requirement is that each role is explicitly assigned before research begins, with realistic time commitments, rather than assumed to be handled by whoever has time.
Authorship should be assigned based on substantive contribution to the research — study design, data collection and analysis, interpretation of findings, writing and revision. These criteria follow standard academic authorship norms and should be communicated explicitly to all team members before the research begins. Support roles that do not meet the threshold for authorship — providing access to participants, assisting with logistics, reviewing drafts — should be acknowledged in the publication's acknowledgment section. Discussing authorship expectations before data collection begins prevents interpersonal conflict after the work is complete.
Inter-observer reliability (IOR) is a measure of the agreement between two independent observers who simultaneously but independently record the same behavior. In single-subject behavioral research, IOR demonstrates that the dependent variable — the behavior being measured — is defined with sufficient operational precision that different observers produce consistent records. Without IOR data, readers cannot determine whether changes in the dependent variable reflect actual behavior change or fluctuations in observer judgment. AOR is reported as a percentage agreement or Cohen's kappa and should be collected across at least 20-30% of sessions during each study phase.
The key to balancing research and clinical responsibilities is designing research that is embedded within, rather than added on top of, clinical work. When the research question maps onto a clinical decision already being made, the experimental design can be built around clinical data collection that is occurring anyway. Protected time for research-specific activities — literature review, graph preparation, writing — should be scheduled deliberately rather than expected to occur in leftover time. Organizations that value research contributions should build this protected time into clinician schedules rather than relying on voluntary overtime.
University faculty who conduct research in autism and behavioral intervention are frequently seeking applied research sites that provide access to participants, ecological validity, and community relevance. Clinical BCBAs can approach faculty at universities in their region by identifying professors whose published research aligns with their clinical population, attending academic conference presentations and introducing themselves, or reaching out directly with a clearly articulated clinical question and a description of their practice's research capacity. These partnerships often begin with informal consultation and can evolve into formal collaborative research relationships with shared IRB coverage, co-authorship, and dissemination.
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ on-demand CEUs including ethics, supervision, and clinical topics like this one. Plus a new live CEU every Wednesday.
Ready to go deeper? This course covers this topic with structured learning objectives and CEU credit.
Justin B. Leaf, Ph.D. | Building Research Teams in Your Clinical Practice | .5 Hour — Autism Partnership Foundation · 5 BACB General CEUs · $0
Take This Course →5 BACB General CEUs · $0 · Autism Partnership Foundation
Research-backed educational guide with practice recommendations
Side-by-side comparison with clinical decision framework
All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.