Lecture 5a: Observational Methods Flashcards
What are the different observational research methods?
- naturalistic observation
- systematic observation
- case studies
What are the different types of data collection?
- quantitative
- qualitative
- mixed
What are quantitative approaches?
research approaches that result in numeric data that are statistically analyzed
What are qualitative approaches?
research approaches that result in non-numeric data that are analyzed for meaning and/or patterns
What is naturalistic observations?
a research method that involves the researcher making systematic observations in a natural setting in the real world
- qualitative or quantitative
What are the two approaches of naturalistic observation?
- participant observation
- concealed observation
What is participant observation?
researcher joins the community they are observing
What is concealed observation?
researcher’s presence is hidden from observed group
What are the advantages of naturalistic observations?
- high external validity
- rich information
- sometimes the only possible approach to use
What are the disadvantages of naturalistic observations?
- lack of control
- extremely time consuming
- observer bias
- possible increased reactivity
What are systematic observations?
a research method in which the researcher observes participants in a controlled setting, typically in a lab space
- quantitative
What kind of behaviours are of interest in systematic observation and how are they trackes?
specific set of behaviours of interested typically coded from video and are tracked by coding schemes
What are coding schemes?
sets of rules that define what behaviours to track or identify and how
- can track frequency of behaviour observed or level/degree of behaviour
What is something that must be ensured among coders when doing a systematic observation?
inter-rater reliability
- need to ensure >80% agreement between coders of behaviour
- easier with extensive training of coders and high quality recordings of observations
What are advantages of systematic observations?
- good external validity
- some experimental control