Lecture 7 Flashcards
What is the next step you’d take after coming up with a question and preliminary observations (pilot)?
A hypotheses and predictions
What would you do after developing a hypotheses and predictions?
Choose variables and catergories
What does the main question do?
Formulates a problem that you want to investigate
What are sampling rules (who to observe)?
-Ad libitum
-Focal
-Scan
-Behaviour sampling
What are recording rules (when to observe)?
-Continuous recording
-Instantaneous sampling
What kind of question would you want to avoid and what kind would you aim for?
You would want to avoid a broad question (ex. what does this animal do?). You’d want one based on existing knowledge and theory (ex. Do big males acquire more mates than small males?)
What can influence the question you choose?
-Previous knowledge
-Interests and observations made in the course of other research
-Priorities of the group in which you work
What can you use to make observations?
-Sensorial resources (audition, smell, vision)
-Equipment
What are direct observations?
When an observation is made the moment the behaviour happens
What are two ways direct observations can be made?
-Invasive
-Non-invasive
What is the problem with invasive observations?
The animal perceives the observer, which can change the behavioural expression of the animal
What are two ways invasive observations can be reduced?
-Habituation
-Camouflage
How can non-invasive DIRECT observations be carried out?
Equipment (cameras, microphones, GPS, radio telemetry, sensors)
How can non-invasive INDIRECT observations be carried out?
Consequences of the behaviour (footprints, tracks, feces, nests, etc)
What is the benefit of non-invasive observations?
Does not change the behavioural expression of the animal
What is the purpose of preliminary observations?
To understand and describe both the subjects and the behaviour you intend to measure
Why are preliminary observations important?
-Provides raw material for formulating questions and hypothesis
-Choosing right methods of measurement/recording
-Habituation of the animals to the observer
-Training the observer
What is the purpose of the hypothesis?
To find the best explanation(s) for the question
The more _________ the predictions are, the ______ it usually is to distinguish empirically between competing hypotheses.
Specific; easier
What is the purpose of an objective?
Expresses the intention or an aspiration of the study; what you hope to achieve at the end of the study
When describing behaviour, what is the structure?
the appearance, physical form or temporal patterning of the behaviour
When describing behaviour, what are the consequences?
The effects of the subject’s behaviour on the environment, other individuals, or itself
What is spatial relation?
The subject’s position or orientation relative to something or someone (another animal, human, etc)
What kind of categories would you want to choose?
-Enough categories to describe the behaviour in detail
-Ones that summarize as much relevant info as possible about the behaviour
-Independent categories of one another
What is an ethogram?
Descriptions of the main types of behaviour pattern that typify the species
What is a flaw with an ethogram?
Not all members of a species behave in the same “species-typical” way
Your categories should be C_______, C_________, and U___________
Clear, comprehensive, unambiguous
When are operational definitions commonly used?
When measuring the consequences of a behaviour
What should ostensive definitions be?
Sufficiently precise and detailed to enable another observer to record the same things in the same way
Why is it important to have precise categories at the beginning of the study?
To prevent definitions and criteria from “drifting” during the course of the study
What is a state?
Behaviour patterns of relatively long duration
What are events?
Behaviour patterns of relatively short duration which can be approximated as points in time
What is the salient feature of events?
Frequency of occurance
What is the salient feature of states?
Duration
What is localization?
Where the animal is
What is posture?
Whether animal is standing, lying down, sitting, etc
What is measuring?
Assigning description to behaviour according to specified rules
What are some ways behaviour can be measured?
-Nominal (or categorical) scale
-Ordinal (or ranking) scale
-Interval scale
-Ratio scale
What are some common variables?
-Frequency
-Duration
-Latency
-Intensity
-Velocity
Why would you want to use an interval scale?
So the difference between two scores can be quantified
Ordinal (ranking) scale
Observations that can be arranged along a scale according to some common property
Ratio scale
a quantitative scale where there is a true zero and equal intervals between neighbouring points
What variables would you use a ratio scale to measure?
Frequencies, durations, and latencies
What is frequency?
The number of occurences of the behaviour pattern per unit time
What is duration?
The length of time for which a single occurrence of the behaviour pattern lasts
What is latency?
The time from some specified event to the onset of the first occurrence of the behaviour
How is intensity measured?
Arbitrary parameters since it does not have a universal definition
What do sampling rules do?
-Defines the subject of the study
-Can focus on individual or groups
What is Ad libitum sampling?
Observer notes whatever is visible and seems relevant at the time
When is ad libitum usually used?
Used during preliminary observations
What is focal sampling?
Observing one individual (or one group) for a specified amount of time and recording all instances of its behaviour
Why can focal sampling be difficult under field conditions?
The focal individual may leave the area and disappear completely. Animals must be identified for this method
What is scan sampling?
A whole group of subjects is scanned at regular intervals and the behaviour of everyone at that instant is recorded
What is a disadvantage to scan sampling?
Restricts the observer to recording only one or a few simple categories of behaviour
What is an advantage of scan sampling?
Animals do not need to be identified, just need to know how many animals are exhibiting the behaviour
What is behaviour sampling?
Watching the whole group and recording each occurrence of a particular type or behaviour
What type of behaviour would you want to use behaviour sampling for?
A rare but significant behaviour
Which rule must be used for behaviour sampling?
Continuous recording rule
Which rule must be used for scan sampling?
Instantaneous
Which rule must be used for ad libitum sampling?
Continuous
What is continuous recording rule?
Each occurrence of the behaviour pattern is recorded
-Can be labour/time intensive
-Exact and faithful representation of behaviour
What is interval of time recording?
-Periodically sampling the behaviour
-Division of an observation session into short units of time for time sampling
What is the sample point in interval of time recording?
The end of each sample
What can interval of time be divided into?
-Instantaneous sampling
-One-zero sampling
What is instantaneous recording?
On each sample point, a record is made of whether or not a given behaviour pattern is occurring
What is one-zero recording?
On each sample point, you record whether or not the behaviour pattern has occurred during the PREVIOUS sample interval
What is the disadvantage of time sampling?
Doesn’t give accurate estimates of frequency or duration, unless the sample interval is short relative to the average duration of the behaviour pattern
What should the studies methods be?
-Feasible (can be done)
-Reliable (can be replicated and consistent)
-Valid
What is inter-observer reliability?
That all observers agree on the method and types of observations so that measurements are consistent
What is intra-observer reliability?
indicates how stable are responses obtained from the same respondent at different time points.
