Reaching The Finish Line

During this semester, I learned a great deal about how to conduct academic research. I really appreciated the opportunity to learn about the Letherby resource. In the beginning, I found the website to be a bit frustrating and difficult to navigate. However, with the guidance of the tutorials and notes in class, I got a better understanding and found it to be a very useful method.  As for the final literature review, I felt that it was not too difficult to manage. It helped me to condense my previous research and it helped me to get an even better grasp on my topic. I feel that having organized research and clear notations can making the final process easier to attempt.   

This semester was a great opportunity for me to not only learn how to be a better researcher, but I learned about my future career. I never knew how much information and knowledge there was supporting the field of Applied Behavior Analysis. I learned that I really did not know very much about the subject to begin with, so this was a wonderful eye opener. I never knew that there were so many available techniques or that behavior intervention could be so successful.  However, I would like to continue to learn about those techniques as well as some adverse reactions. All in all, I felt that this was a very successful and educational semester. I look forward to future career opportunities and as well as my future here at Brandman. Thanks for reading everyone and happy researching!

Annotated Bibliography

 

Writing this annotated bibliography seemed to be a pretty smooth process for me. I feel that for the previous assignments I was careful in the sources that I chose, so narrowing down my articles into one source was not so challenging. I also enjoyed finding new articles to utilize. For my research this semester, I was attempting to learn more about the use of behavior analysis for individuals with developmental disabilities. So, the articles I chose for my bibliography centered around what this practice entails, the techniques that are used, and why behavior intervention is sometimes necessary. I also chose a couple of articles that examined different types of developmental disabilities and what challenging behaviors can look like. For future research, I would like to see how this therapy is actually put to use. There are many different techniques and was to go about behavior therapy, I feel that I have barely touched the surface. I am really trying to find a way to apply this information to a wide audience. As of now, I feel that there are few people that find this topic to be interesting.

What is applied behavior analysis, and what kind of techniques can be used to assist individuals with developmental disabilities?

Annotated Bibliography:

(1.) Bloh, Christopher, and Saul Axelrod. "IDEIA And The Means To Change Behavior Should Be Enough: Growing Support For Using Applied Behavior Analysis In The Classroom." Journal Of Early And Intensive Behavior Intervention 5.2 (2008): 52-56. ERIC. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.

This reference discusses the positive aspects and uses of Applied Behavioral Analysis in the classroom setting. I wanted to use this reference for my annotated bibliography because it put the practice of behavior analysis to use. It showed me how receptive this practice can be, as well as how it actually can be utilized. This article had many useful sources and showed great relevance to my research topic.

(2.) Ciftci, Hale. "The Effect of Using Simultaneous Prompting to Teach opposite Concepts to Intellectually Disabled Children | Dere Çiftçi | International Journal of Human Sciences." The Effect of Using Simultaneous Prompting to Teach opposite Concepts to Intellectually Disabled Children | Dere Çiftçi | International Journal of Human Sciences. 2013. Web. 5 Aug. 2015.

This journal article examines the research conducted among nine children and how the procedure of synchronized cue’s affected them in a learning environment. I chose this article for my bibliography because of its relevance and coherence to my research question. I aimed to learn more about techniques, such as simultaneous prompting, that are used in behavior analysis. Future research would entail more information on what behavior analysis is and the techniques that are used.  

(3.) Dufresne, Derrick. Kappel, Bruce. Mayor, Mike. "From Behavior Management to Positive Behavioral Supports." Administration on Developmental Disabilities. 2012. Web. 26 July 2015.

This reference focuses specifically on the practice of behavior analysis, and how it can be utilized. In this article, some of the history behind the therapy can be found as well. I chose this article because it had a great deal of credible sources and it was only published three years ago making it relevant and useful. This source provided to be a great tool and source of information to my research topic.

(4.) Emerson, Eric. Challenging Behaviour : Analysis And Intervention In People With Severe Learning Disabilities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 10 July 2015.

This ebook provides great insight and information about developmental disabilities in coherence with behavior intervention therapies. It also examines the basics showing what challenging behaviors can look like and why behavior intervention is so crucial in reducing those behaviors for individuals with developmental disabilities. I chose this reference because it provides great knowledge on both areas of my research topic. It is a great source of information on both developmental disabilities, as well as behavior analysis.  

(5.) Gambrill, Eileen. "Birds Of A Feather: Applied Behavior Analysis And Quality Of Life." Research On Social Work Practice 23.2 (2013): 121-140. ERIC. Web. 20 July 2015.

This reference is probably the one that I found to be most useful and relevant to my topic. This journal article centers around the study and use of behavior analysis. It covers a variety of topics including what behavior analysis is, how it functions, why it is needed, it’s effectiveness, and some of the history behind the practice. However, I really appreciated how this article included some of the controversies surrounding behavior analysis, which is something that I was looking for in the previous assignments. This article provided a great deal of references and I found that the source of the article was credible and reliable. Eileen Gambrill is a professor of child and family studies and licensed psychologist.

(6.) Mohammadzaheri, Fereshteh, et al. "A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparison Between Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) And Structured Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) Intervention For Children With Autism." Journal Of Autism And Developmental Disorders 44.11 (2014): 2769-2777. ERIC. Web. 15 Aug. 2015.

This journal article speaks of a certain type of therapy that is used in behavior analysis, geared towards individuals on the autism spectrum. It also compares two different types of techniques that are used. Again, I chose this specific article because it focuses on certain techniques that are used in behavior analysis. I’m finding that by getting a glimpse into these techniques, I am learning more about what behavior analysis actually is and what kind of an impact it can have.     

Questioning the Question?

This week I seemed to find some more clarity on my topic. Previously, I had some doubts about my research question. I felt that there was an element that I was missing in my quest. Ultimately, I decided to tweak my question a bit to include the techniques and methods that are used in Applied Behavior Analysis to aid individuals with developmental disabilities. My previous question was exclusive to the practice and effects of Applied Behavior Analysis. The article I found this week, was an interesting article about the use of simultaneous prompting. This article explains how synchronized cue’s affect children in the learning environment, with positive results. I found this to be a very interesting article, and for the future of my research I am anxious to learn more about different techniques used in Applied Behavior Analysis.
I also found the information on academic integrity to be quit interesting and useful. There is so much readily accessible information out there, weather it be online or in a book. It can be really easy to find and copy someone else's work as your own. However, it is up to us to have the morality and truthfulness to do our own work.

Searching and Searching...

I thought that I was going to have a difficult time finding an article this week, because last weeks assignment was a bit frustrating for me. However, I actually found a great article fairly quickly. The article that I ended up using was a great article about the research, study, and effects of Applied Behavior Analysis on actual individuals with intellectual disabilities. It was very informative and provided great insight to my topic. I learned about a certain type of therapy that is used in behavior intervention- redirection. From my understanding, this seemed like a very effective tool used in behavior intervention. Also, this led me to the possibility of changing my researching question. I think I would like my question to include the search of different types of behavior intervention for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Also for future research, I’d really like to get more comfortable using the Letherby site.  Each week I feel that I have learned new tools in conducting online research, and I feel that getting a firm grasp on the Letherby site will serve me well while at Brandman. This weeks assignment made me realize that there is a great deal more that I need to learn and understand. I’m looking forward to the next few weeks and getting an even better understanding.

Exploring Journal Articles.

I had quite a difficult time conducting research for my topic this week. I’m not sure why, but I just did not have much luck finding appropriate articles to my topic. Last week, I felt that there were numerous e-books at my choosing. However, this week when searching for peer-reviewed journal articles I was not finding as much information. Do not get me wrong, there is a great deal of information out there that involves both intellectual disabilities and behavior analysis. I was attempting to find information that dealt with some of the weaknesses and downfalls in the study of applied behavior analysis, and that was more difficult to find. My thinking is that understanding the positive and negative aspects of my topic will broaden my overall knowledge on the subject.
Overall, I learned some valuable new information this week. I learned of the tricky business of searching for online journal articles as well as new information on my research topic. I obtained further understanding on the subject of behavior analysis, as well as its effectiveness and weaknesses. In future researching, I would like to learn more about how behavior analysis is used specifically to aid those with developmental disabilities.  

E-Reading

I felt that for the assignment this week I was a bit lucky in conducting my research. I found a great deal of information on my topic, and there were many e-books available for me to chose from. This week, I learned more about the Letherby online source and conducting advanced searches. This assignment helped me get a better understanding of the online library source. I am glad that my topic, which is on behavior analysis and its effects on individuals with developmental disabilities, has so much information that is readily available. I learned about some of the techniques that are used in behavior therapy as well as its effectiveness. I am still researching and hoping to find information about some of the controversies and negative aspects of the therapy. Although there was a great deal of information for me to access, it was a bit frustrating for me to find information that pertained to developmental disabilities as a whole. I found that a lot of the books available were specific to certain intellectual differences, like down syndrome or autism for instance. I am not sure if I want my research to be exclusive to one certain type of learning difference.

Understanding The Search.

                       

For the assignment this week, I spent a great deal of time attempting to get a better understanding of what kind of research I was going to be conducting. I found that last week, my topic was a bit broad and I really did not have a concept of what I was going to be doing. Once I had a better notion of what I was going to be researching, I learned some really useful new things. Not only did I learn new information about my research topic, I learned new tools for conducting credible online research. For instance, I had no previous experience using the Letherby websites whatsoever, so that took some effort. At first, I was completely lost and had no clue what I was doing but the more I worked at it I started to get a better understanding. It was a useful tool but I found it difficult finding information on my topic. I’m not sure if I just haven’t really figured it out but, I was not finding very much information on either behavior analysis or developmental disabilities. I did, however, end up finding a great source that I feel confident using. 

As for my research topic, which is on the use of behavior analysis for individuals with developmental disabilities, I learned a great deal. I learned about the history of behavior analysis, and I learned about some of the techniques used in the therapy. I also learned of some of the controversies behind the subject and its effectiveness. For the future of my research on this topic, I would like to learn more about the types of therapies that are used in behavior analysis as well as its effects on its clients. I would also like to look more into the controversies of its practicality.