Practice question
Experimental Design

Threats to internal validity: Measurement quality and procedural integrity.

Original BCBA scenario practice question with answer explanation and wrong-choice notes.

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Question

Difficulty: easy. Skill: recognize. Type: experimental design critique.

The team wants stronger evidence before scaling a plan for following a visual schedule. Which design decision best fits threats to internal validity? The case file includes 3 recent sessions, 1 implementer, and 3 settings.

A
Use a familiar protocol even though it does not address measurement quality and procedural integrity
B
Rely on teacher's report alone and stop collecting direct evidence
C
Change the intervention immediately based on the concern alone
D
Check measurement quality, observer agreement, and procedural integrity before making a major decision in relation to student's calling out during independent work

Correct answer

Explanation

Answer D

The clue is the combination of frequency data that vary from 3 to 11 responses per session, calling out during independent work, and the required task: Threats to internal validity. The case file includes 3 recent sessions, 1 implementer, and 3 settings. Check measurement quality, observer agreement, and procedural integrity before making a major decision in relation to student's calling out during independent work is best because it answers that clue through measurement quality and procedural integrity instead of treating the scenario as a generic behavior problem. On exam items like this, name the decision point first, then eliminate options that rely on one report, a label, a familiar protocol, or an action that skips the relevant data check.

Why this question is hard

Clue
Key scenario clue

The clue is the combination of frequency data that vary from 3 to 11 responses per session, calling out during independent work, and the required task: Threats to internal validity. The case file includes 3 recent sessions, 1 implementer, and 3 settings.

Trap
Common trap

A familiar protocol is not enough unless it matches the assessed variables and the current decision question.

Next
If you missed it, review Internal validity and confounds

Then answer a few related scenarios before moving back to broad practice.

Why the other choices are weaker

A
Choice A

A familiar protocol is not enough unless it matches the assessed variables and the current decision question.

B
Choice B

Stakeholder input matters, but direct data, context, and integrity checks are still needed for a defensible answer.

C
Choice C

This is weaker because it skips the assessment, integrity, or decision rule needed before changing procedures.

Study tags

Measurement quality and procedural integrityThreats to internal validityvalidityreliability

Turn this into a study plan

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Related study guides

GuideDistractor patternsUse this if the wrong answer sounded plausible.GuideMissed-question reviewUse this if you want to turn the miss into a study rule.GuideScore plateau guideUse this if similar mistakes keep repeating.

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Question FAQ

What BCBA domain does this question cover?

This practice question is tagged to Experimental Design. It also includes study tags for Measurement quality and procedural integrity, Threats to internal validity, validity, reliability.

How should I review this practice question?

Answer the scenario before reading the explanation, compare your reasoning with the correct answer, then review why the distractors are weaker.

Is this an official BACB exam question?

No. This is an original study question for BCBA Scenario Tutor and is not an official BACB exam item.

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