: Decide who should collect the data. Essentially, you have four choices here: the client, yourself, a relevant other, or an independent observer. Each of the choices has clear advantages and...

Decide who should collect the data. Essentially, you have four choices here: the client, yourself, a relevant other, or an independent observer. Each of the choices has clear advantages and disadvantages. The primary guideline perhaps is that the observer must be able to record; he or she must be present when the behavior occurs and be able to observe it. Sometimes only one person meets this criterion (e.g., the client must record his or her own covert behaviors), and then your decision is clear.