Comparing observational software with paper and pencil for time-sampled data: A field test of Interval Manager (INTMAN)

Abstract

The INTMAN software system was designed to facilitate the collection of time-sampled data in field-based settings. INTMAN has a collection component and an analysis component. The collection component runs on Pocket 165Copyright 2006 Psychonomic Society, Inc.The first author and the first author's not-for-profit institution receive funds from license sales and therefore have a financial interest in the software described in this article. In this article, we describe the Interval Manager (INTMAN) software system for collecting timesampled observational data and present a preliminary application comparing the program with a traditional paper-and-pencil method. INTMAN is a computer-assisted alternative to traditional paperand-pencil methods for collecting fixed interval time-sampled observational data. The INTMAN data collection software runs on Pocket PC handheld computers and includes a desktop application for Microsoft Windows that is used for data analysis. Standard analysis options include modified frequencies, percent of intervals, conditional probabilities, and kappa agreement matrices and values. INTMAN and a standardized paper-and-pencil method were compared under identical conditions on five dimensions: setup time, duration of data entry, duration of interobserver agreement calculations, accuracy, and cost. Overall, the computer-assisted program was a more efficient and accurate data collection system for time-sampled data than the traditional method.

Brief Report: Effects of Pressure Vest Usage on Engagement and Problem Behaviors of a Young Child with Developmental Delays

“…The data were analyzed using a 10-s momentary time sample recording system on a personal computer using Procoder DV (Tapp and Walden 2000). Data from Procoder DV was exported into Interval Manager (Tapp et al 2006) for further analysis and calculation of interobserver agreement (IOA).…”

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Refinement, reliability and validity of the Time Capture Tool (TimeCaT) using the Omaha System to support data capture for time motion studies

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