The effects of in-service training alone and in-service training with feedback on data collection accuracy for direct-care staff working with individuals with intellectual disabilities

• We trained three parents of children with autism to use compliance training correctly.
• We trained them by getting them to make behavioral observations of videotapes.
• Correct use of compliance training and child compliance increased for two of three dyads.
• Addition of feedback on parental correct use of compliance training increased parental correct performance and child compliance.

Three residential staff aged 22–38 years participated in this study which measured the accuracy of their data collection, following instruction, in-service, and in-service plus feedback. The experimenter trained them to collect data on targeted maladaptive behavior of one consumer at one time of the day. Following the in-service and the in-service plus feedback trainings, the experimenters assessed whether data collection accuracy increased for that consumer at that time and whether these improved data collection skills generalized to the other consumers and different times. The experimenter used a multiple-baseline-across-participants design to demonstrate experimental control. All three staff improved their data-collection-accuracy from instruction to in-service, and then from in-service to in-service plus feedback. Additionally, improved data collection generalized to two different consumers and two separate time periods. Future research should extend these findings of this study to measuring the effects of more accurate data collection on other functional dependent variables such as accuracy of staff implementation of behavior plans, frequency of maladaptive behavior and amount of prescribed psychotropic medications.