ABSTRACT
S. Odom et al. point out that interest in and guidelines for the evaluation of research supporting clinical and educational practices has been addressed by medical and social science, and educational professional organizations for many years. Parents and others expect to see positive changes in behavior, an expectation that is both reasonable and consistent with ethical standards of educational and clinical service professional organizations. Applied behavior analysts have historically held themselves accountable for designing and employing curricula, interventions, systems for change, and educational/therapeutic approaches that bring about positive behavior change. The National Research Council, at the request of the US Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs, was assigned the task of developing a set of guidelines for evaluating the scientific rigor and trustworthiness of research related to autism spectrum disorders. The group research approach is the most common research methodology used in the behavioral sciences.
