Trend
Also called: slope, direction
Definition
The overall direction of the data within a condition — increasing, decreasing or flat — and how steeply. A baseline trending in the direction the treatment is meant to produce cannot show that the treatment did anything, which is why baseline is extended until the trend is flat or moving the other way.
In plain language
Which way the data are heading and how fast. If the behavior was already improving before treatment, treatment cannot take the credit.
Example
Across ten baseline sessions the count climbs from 2 to 9. The trend is upward.
Not trend
Data that jump between 2 and 9 from session to session with no direction. That is variability.
See also
Written from
- kazdin-2011
Written from Kazdin (2011). No textbook glossary consulted.
This entry has not yet been through clinical review. Treat it as a draft.