6A: Observational Research

Question 1

Field research

Answer 1

Refers to research method which involve observing naturally occurring behaviour under natural conditions

Question 2

Low-constraint research

Answer 2

Methods which focus on the natural flow of behaviour (without controls or manipulations) and are flexible (allow researcher to take advantage of unexpected occurrences and new ideas)

Question 3

Why use low-constraint research methods?

Answer 3

Suitable when the research question is the natural flow of behaviour.
Often used to confirm or extend finding from lab-based studies (particularly to test generalisability).
Useful when investigating a new phenomenon (exploratory research)

Question 4

Low-constraint research - difficulties

Answer 4

Often difficult to observe participants in natural surroundings.
Difficult to know which information is important - can take time and effort to work this out.
Difficult to ensure participants show the behaviours you are interested in.
Difficult to observe behaviour without changing it in some way

Question 5

Naturalistic observation

Answer 5

Observations and systematic recording of naturally occurring events.
The collection of data without manipulation of the environment.
Aim is to study the behaviour of an organism in natural settings.

Question 6

Naturalistic observation: advantages

Answer 6

Data obtained reflects behaviours in the participant’s natural environment.
Allows collection of data where experimental techniques are unethical or impractical.
Allows collection of large amount of data of a whole variety of behaviours.

Question 7

Naturalistic observation: disadvantages

Answer 7

Can be difficult to measure behaviour reliably - typically addressed by having multiple observers and then measuring inter-rater reliability.
Ethical issues - violation of privacy. Often obtaining informed consent would defeat the purpose.

Question 8

Inter-rater reliability

Answer 8

A way of measuring the degree of agreement amount raters - is he value is a score representing how much consensus there is between the ratings of different judgements.
A common way of calculating inter-rater reliability is Cohen’s kappa (see notes)

Question 9

Case study research

Answer 9

Collection of data about an individual or small number of individuals.
Interested in natural flow of behaviour, just with a narrower focus.
Slightly more constrained than naturalistic observation, as often focuses on specific behaviours and/or settings.

Question 10

Case study research: advantages

Answer 10

Allows collection of a large amount of data.
Allows researchers to study rare behaviours or disorders.
Allows researchers to investigate complex issues.

Question 11

Case study research: disadvantages

Answer 11

Inability to test hypothesis.
Inability to draw conclusions about causality.
Inability to generalise findings.

Question 12

Archival measures

Answer 12

Use of existing records or data.
Can be used to investigate events that have already occurred.
Usually take the form of text, but can also be drawings, videos etc.
E.g., school records, marriage certificates, hospital records

Question 13

Archival measures: advantages

Answer 13

A vast amount of archival data is available.
Data exists in a variety of forms.
Data covers a vast range of different behaviours and issues.
Often economical

Question 14

Archival measures: disadvantages

Answer 14

Researcher has no control of data collection process.
Selective deposit.
Selective survival.
High probability of missing data.

Question 15

Using low-constraint methods

Answer 15

Problem statements and hypotheses evolve during the research - often starting out very general and then becoming more specific.
Data gathering process is less formal and more fluid (can change during the study)

Question 16

Unobtrusive observer

Answer 16

Form of data gathering.

Researcher avoids influencing the participant

Question 17

Participant observer

Answer 17

Form of data gathering.

Researcher becomes part of observed situation

Question 18

Reactivity

Answer 18

When participants behave differently because they know they are being observed.
Reactive measures are those while are likely to enhance reactivity.
Nonreactive measures are those which tend to minimise reactivity.

Question 19

Unobtrusive measures

Answer 19

Measures of behaviour that are not obvious to the person being observed.
E.g., measuring interest level for a museum exhibit

Question 20

Sampling of participants

Answer 20

Want to obtain the most representative sample possible, in order to facilitate generalisability.
But sampling often not under researcher’s control.
Generalise only to similar samples.

Question 21

Sampling of situations

Answer 21

Want to obtain data from the widest range of situations.

Better understanding of consistency and possible causality.

Question 22

Sampling of behaviours

Answer 22

Can take many forms - narrative records (written, audiotape, videotape), units of behaviour (frequency, durations, rating scales)
Need to undertake repeated sampling of behaviours in order to gain representative data

Question 23

Evaluating and interpreting data

Answer 23

Typically need to code the data first (e.g., from transcripts of conversations to a form that can be analysed)
Need to be cautious in interpreting data from low-constraint research as few control, so usually cannot draw strong conclusions

Question 24

Limitations of low-constraint methods

Answer 24

Poor representativeness
Poor replicability
Casual inference
Limitations of the observer (experimented reactivity and bias)