Chapter 8: Non-experimental research: Observational, Case Study, Archive Flashcards
manipulation:
in an experiment, conditions or variables assigned or presented to a participant
assignment:
in an experiment, pairing a subject with a condition or variable, according to the experimenter’s plan
observation:
the record of a behavior
Observational research takes two general forms:
naturalistic observation and participant observation, which vary in the degree of intervention by the researcher.
4 main non-experimental research methods:
observation, archival research, case studies, and surveys
The distinction between experimental research and non experimental research
1) The independent variable is not manipulated
Key words here are manipulation and assignment versus observation
2) data collection procedure often must forfeit some degree of control in return for obtaining the data
3) qualitative research interested in how individuals understand themselves and make meaning out of their lives
qualitative research:
nonexperimental research that asks questions regarding how people make meaning out of the world
correlational research:
nonexperimental research that measures two or more variables to determine the degree of relationship between them
The goals of correlational research are to describe and to predict
can determine a relationship between two variables, but cannot determine which variable is the cause and which variable is the effect
Why is non-experimental research often called correlational research?
The term is somewhat misleading, however, because all research is correlational to the extent that it seeks functional relationships between variables
What makes research correlational in the common usage is the inability to manipulate some variable independently
Experimental research frequently is done as a follow-up to previous nonexperimental observations
Observational research:
describe behaviour and, possibly, to examine the relationships among variables
can provide a rich source of hypotheses about the relationships between behaviours and the causes of behaviours. Thus, observation is often the first step in discovering the causes of behaviours
archival research:
study method that examines existing records to obtain data and test hypotheses
study crime statistics in different countries to see if there is a relation between capital punishment and the murder rate
case study:
exploratory study of an existing situation as a means of creating and testing a hypothesis
An investigator might study the victims of a natural disaster (such as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico) to determine its effects on their psychological health
survey:
assessing public opinion or individual characteristics by the use of questionnaire and sampling methods
hermeneutics:
the principles of interpretation of a text’s meaning
How is naturalistic observation different from the casual observation that most people do?
Naturalistic observation is research conducted in such a way that the subject’s behavior is disturbed as little as possible by the observation process. The observation is made in the environment where the behavior naturally occurs
unobtrusive research:
another term for naturalistic observation: the effort that researchers make not to influence, or obtrude on, the behavior being studied.
nonreactive research:
another term for naturalistic observation emphasizing that the subjects are unaware that they are being studied
physical trace and 2 kinds:
unobtrusive measure of behavior that uses physical evidence
use trace
- smudges on a pages book to see if the person spent a lot of time on that page
physical trace
- cigar butts after a poker party
laboratory observation:
a type of observation that occurs in the laboratory rather than in the field
Describe briefly three common ways of sampling behaviours in observational research
To describe behaviours accurately, a researcher must observe a sample of behaviour that is representative of the larger population of all possible behaviours.
Time sampling refers to selecting various time intervals, either systematically (e.g., every 15 minutes) or randomly, for their observations.
Event sampling refers to recording each event that meets a predetermined definition (e.g., fighting), which tends to happen infrequently.
Situation sampling refers to observing behaviour in as many different locations (e.g., in school playground and at home) and under as many different circumstances and conditions as possible
Naturalistic observing has few hard-and-fast rules.
Three that should be mentioned are
- careful record keeping, detailed logs/checklists
- the use of a variety of types of measures, video/camera
- and care for privacy of the participants, ethics
Propose a hypothesis that may be tested using physical traces:
Cave art in relation to sexual status hierarchy among ancient civilizations
advantages and disadvantages of using physical traces as measures to test hypotheses about people’s past behaviour?
- Advantages:
- It is unobtrusive and non-reactive so people’s behaviors are not influenced by the measurement process
- Disadvantages:
- Can still run into ethical questions: example of looking at student’s library card
- Erosion of evidence
- Must consider alternative explanations and potentially collect data to rule out alternatives
- Best to collect many different forms of evidence/data
participant-observer research:
in which investigators participate in groups and record their observations.
The greatest challenge for the researcher is to gain access to the group, as White and McBurney (2013) point out. Once in, the participant observer may either take the role of an active participant of the group or stay in the periphery
must maintain a balance between reporting from the insider’s perspective and scientific objectivity.