Key Terms Test Revision

Question 1

Observations

Answer 1

Way of seeing what people do

Question 2

Controlled vs naturalistic

Answer 2

Some aspects of environment controlled or all variables free to vary (naturalistic)

Question 3

Covert vs overt

Answer 3

Behaviour observed without awareness/consent of participant or by telling them they are being watched

Question 4

Participant vs non participant group

Answer 4

Researcher may opt to be part of the group they are observing (go native) or watch from ‘the sidelines’ instead

Question 5

Causation

Answer 5

Is it not possible to establish cause and effect in an observation

Question 6

Structures vs unstructured

Answer 6

Researcher may want to record everything they see (unstructured) or use a pre determined list of behaviours and sampling methods (structured)

Question 7

Behaviour categories

Answer 7

In order to structure what is being recorded researchers need to clearly define target behaviours

Question 8

Sampling methods

Answer 8

Behaviour may be recorded continuously or using sampling method

Question 9

Effective categories

Answer 9

Behavioural categories should be measurable not overlap and avoid ‘dustbin categories’ within which many behaviours are recorded

Question 10

Event and time sampling

Answer 10

Counting the number of times a particular behaviour occurs (event) or recording behaviour within a pre established time frame (time)

Question 11

Data

Answer 11

Observers may record quantitative data (easy to analyse but narrow in scope (no depth)) or qualitative data (rich in detail but conclusions may be biased)