You realize you did not record data for part of the session

The situation

Halfway through writing up the session you realize a block of trials, or a stretch of time, was never recorded. You remember roughly how it went. The note and data sheet are due today.

What the plan usually asks for

1. Record only what you actually observed and recorded at the time, and mark the gap clearly as missing. Data reconstructed from memory look identical to real data on a graph and are not. A visible gap is honest and interpretable; a filled-in gap is neither.
2. Write a brief, factual note about the gap — what was not recorded, for how long, and why. The supervisor needs to know how much of the session's data to trust.
3. Tell your supervisor the same day rather than hoping it goes unnoticed. Missing data are a normal problem with a normal fix. Concealed data are an integrity problem.
4. Work out what made recording fail — sheet layout, timing, too many targets — and suggest a fix. Recording that keeps failing is a measurement-system problem, not a character flaw, and supervisors can change the system.

What not to do

• Do not estimate numbers and write them as if they were recorded.
• Do not copy the previous session's data as a stand-in.
• Do not leave the gap unexplained and let it be read as zero occurrences.

When to tell your supervisor

• Always: any gap or error in clinical data is reported to the supervisor the same day.

Terms used here

• Data Sheet
• Objective Language
• Session Note
• Treatment Integrity