The present study used an online behavioral instruction program to teach accurate American Psychological Association (APA) citation formatting to nine graduate students. The participants completed two self‐paced, online training modules targeting the correct formation of full reference and in‐text citations, which consisted of the three elements of behavioral instruction: multiple practice opportunities, mastery criteria, and automatic feedback provided contingent on response. Training occurred using a concurrent multiple baseline design across skills (for seven participants) or nonconcurrently across participants (for two participants). Most participants did not correctly use APA citation formatting when probed in the baseline condition. Following training, participants increased their accuracy in APA citations across trained and novel exemplars. Two participants’ data showed limited functional control due to increases in baseline. One participant required an additional visual checklist to reach the mastery criterion for one skill. Social validity was also assessed with overall confidence in using APA citation formatting increasing following completion of the modules. Participants reported overall satisfaction with the online modules stating that they were helpful in teaching correct citation implementation and were easy to use. Limitations to the current study and future uses of behavioral instruction as a technology are discussed.

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) annually publishes data on the pass rates of institutions with verified course sequences (VCS). The current study analyzed BACB-published data from the years 2015-2019 and explored relations among program mode, number of first-time candidates, and examination pass rates. In a correlation analysis of number of first-time candidates and pass rates, there was a weak negative correlation, indicating that larger numbers of first-time candidates are associated with lower pass rates. Further, statistically significant differences were found among the mean number of first-time candidates, mean pass rates, and mean number of passing first-time candidates across program modes. Campus and hybrid programs had higher mean pass rates than distance programs, whereas distance programs had higher numbers of passing firsttime candidates than campus programs. External validity and implications for indicators of program quality are discussed.

The identification of interventions that are both effective and efficient is an ongoing need for the practice of applied behavior analysis. The parallel treatments design (PTD) has been described as powerful tool for comparing interventions in applied settings. The PTD combines elements of the multiple probe design and the adapted alternating treatments design. Execution of a PTD requires adherence to experimental tactics related to both designs, as well as adherence to specific features of the PTD outlined by the original authors (Gast & Wolery, 1988). The purpose of this systematic literature review was to evaluate (a) publication trends with the PTD, (b) applications of the PTD across behaviors and interventions, and (c) the extent to which articles that named the PTD as the design adhered to its defining features. Outcomes are discussed with respect to the utility of the PTD, limitations of the PTD, and potential refinements of the definition of the PTD.