In partial interval recording, a behavior is marked when:

In partial interval recording, a behavior is recorded as occurring if it happens at any point during the designated interval of time. This method focuses on whether the behavior takes place within that interval, rather than how long or how often it occurs throughout the entire duration. This approach is useful for capturing behaviors that might not be consistent but are still important to document for assessing frequency or trends over time.

For example, if a student shows signs of off-task behavior at any time during a short observation period, even if it’s just for a few seconds, it would be marked as occurring in that interval. This method is advantageous when the goal is to gather data on infrequent behaviors or to assess overall engagement, rather than measuring the duration of the behavior directly.