3.1: observation Flashcards
observational research
when a researcher watches or monitors participants (people or animals) and systematically records their behavior
naturalistic observation
observation in the wild
controlled observation
observation in controlled setting such as a lab
what does a operationalizing a behavior require?
a definition
expert’s rules on observational studies
- exclude what are not gestures
- how many gestures were there?
- how do we characterize a gesture?
event sampling
count frequency of “events” of interest during a designated period of time
what can you compute from event sampling?
percentage of time spent doing the behavior during a period of time
time-based sampling
record pre-specified short periods of time and record whether behavior is present or not
example of time based sampling
randomly choose 10-30 second segments
observer bias
refers to when observers’ expectations influence their interpretation of the participants’ behaviors or outcome in the study
how to minimize observer bias?
- having specific coding criteria that observers are trained to use
- multiple raters
- masked (blind) design
how does having multiple raters minimize observer bias?
it ensures a check on rating reliability
masked design
observer is unaware of predictions and/or conditions in which the participants are in
inter-rater reliability
computed from pairs of ratings typically based on a subset (15% to 20%) of the data
what percentage of inter-rater reliability is preferred for publishable studies?
0.7 or above
observer effects
refers to when observers’ expectations influence how they behave towards participants
how to minimize observers effects
masked design
reactivity
refers to the tendency of participants to act differently if they know they are being observed
what is intended to decrease reactivity?
naturalistic observation
how to minimize reactivity?
- Blend in by unobtrusively observing
- Wait until participants are used to being observed
- Measure behavior outcomes
how to measure behavior outcomes?
measures that behavior occurred rather than directly observing behavior
when is a self-report survey best used?
if perspective of the self is of interest, it’s possible to accurately self-report a behavior, using open-ended responses to get to know phenomenon
what is a pro of observation?
allows measurement of behavior that otherwise would be hard to access from self-perspective
what is a con of observation?
difficult and likely more time consuming
