3.1: Observation Flashcards
Observational Research
When a researcher watches or monitors participants and systematically records their behavior.
What are considered participants in observational research?
People or animals
What are the two types of observational research?
- Naturalistic
- Controlled
Naturalistic
An observation is conducted “in the wild” / natural habitat
Controlled
Observation is conducted in a controlled setting; lab
What needs to happen to study a behavior?
The behavior needs to be operationalized.
What is required to operationalize a behavior?
A definition
What are the 3 expert rules?
- Exclude what behaviors do not fall under the category of behaviors being observed.
- Count how many times the intended behavior occurred.
- Determine how the intended behavior will be characterized.
What are two ways behaviors can be characterized?
- Type
- Location
What are the two types of sampling?
- Event Sampling
- Time-based Sampling
Event Sampling
Count the frequency of “events” of the interest during a designated period of measured time.
What is computed during event sampling?
The percentage of time spent doing the intended behavior during a designated period of time.
Time-based Sampling
Record pre-specified short periods of time and record whether the behavior is present or not, or count frequencies within the video clips
How are video clips in time-based sampling selected?
Randomly choose 10, 30 second segments to examine
Observer Bias
When the observers’ expectations influence their interpretation of the participants behaviors or outcome in the study.
What 3 ways can be used to minimize observer bias?
- Having specific coding criteria that observers are trained to use
- Having multiple raters present
- Masked (blind) Design
What effect does having multiple raters have?
It ensures reliability since the raters can check with each other about the findings
Masked (blind) 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 of the data.
What percent of data is inter-rater reliability based on?
15-20%
What happens when the inter-rater reliability is above 0.7?
It is preferred for any publishable study
- high agreement between raters
What 3 ways are used to settle differences between raters?
- Quantitative Approach
- Raters discuss where the disagreements occurred and which score to use.
- An independent 3rd rater would moderate between the raters to decide which score to use.
Quantitative Approach of Raters
Take the average ratings of all the raters score
No matter what method is completed to settle rating differences, what needs to be done?
The method needs to be reported in the methods section of the research paper
Observer Effects
When observers expectations influence how they behave towards participants
How can observer effects be minimized?
Masked (blind) Design
Reactivity
The tendency of participants to act differently if they know they are being observed.
What is the difference between reactivity and observer effects?
The observer isn’t being a specific behavior
What effect does the presence of the observation have on the participant?
It can alter their natural behaviors
What is naturalistic observation intended to do?
Decrease reactivity
What 3 ways does naturalistic observation decrease reactivity?
- Observers lend in so they do not attract attention
- Wait until the participants are used to being observed
- Measure the behavior outcomes that occur rather than measuring current behavior.
What are the 2 main types of studies?
- Surveys
- Observations
What are 3 pros of surveys?
- Best when the individuals perspective is of interest
- Useful when people can accurately report their own behavior
- Allows for open ended responses to gain more insight into the topic.
What are 2 cons of surveys?
- Prone to bias (self report)
- People can lack insight into their own behaviors
What are 2 pros of observations?
- Enables measurement of behaviors not easily reported
- Provide more objective data on actions and patterns
