Digital data acquisition systems for observing behavior in laboratory and field settings

Abstract

Electronic digital systems for recording behavior and for record keeping in hospital, clinical, laboratory, and field settings are now available from commercial sources. Behavioral events, occurring in real time, are coded by an observer who pushes buttons on an adding machine-type keyboard. Information is stored electronically on a cassette or other type of magnetic tape recorder. Tapes can be played, through appropriate interfaces, into a computer, keypunch, Teletype punch, or digital printer. Code frequencies, sequences, real-time durations, and modified frequency time-sample scores can be extracted from these records by hand or by-computer. This paper describes such systems, detailing methods of coding behavioral events and problems encountered in the use of digital observational systems. © 1973 Psychonomic Society, Inc.