Lesson 2: Observational Techniques

Question 1

observation definition

Answer 1

when a researcher watches or listens to participants engaging in behaviour that is being studied

Question 2

non-participant observation

Answer 2

when the researcher does not get directly involved with the interactions of the participants

Question 3

participant observation

Answer 3

when the researcher is directly involved with the interactions of participants

Question 4

covert observation

Answer 4

• the psychologist goes undercover and does not reveal their true identity
• may even give themselves a new identity
• the group does not know they are being observed

Question 5

overt observation

Answer 5

the researcher watches and records the behaviour of a group that knows it is being observed by a psychologist

Question 6

naturalistic observation

Answer 6

a researcher observes participants in their environment and there is no deliberate manipulation of the independent variable (IV)

Question 7

naturalistic observation advantages

Answer 7

• participants are usually unaware that they are being observed (covert observation) so there is reduced chance of observer effects which occur when pps change their behaviour because they know they are being observed, invalidating the results
• high mundane realism and ecological validity
• useful when the deliberate manipulation of variables would be impractical or unethical

Question 8

naturalistic observations disadvantages

Answer 8

• impossible to have any control over extraneous variables
• problematic to try to determine cause and effect
• risk of observer bias which occurs when observers know the aims of the study, or they hypotheses, and this knowledge usually influences their observations

Question 9

controlled observation

Answer 9

researcher observes participants in a controlled environment and this allows for manipulation of the independent variable

Question 10

controlled observation advantages

Answer 10

• cause and effect can be determined
• extraneous variables can be accounted for

Question 11

controlled observation disadvantages

Answer 11

• lower mundane realism and ecological validity
• observer effects could occur as pps usually know they are being observed (overt observation)
• risk of observer bias

Question 12

operationalised behavioural categories

Answer 12

• specific and observable behaviours to be recorded during an observation
• represent the more general construct under the investigation

Question 13

what do behavioural categories do

Answer 13

• allow observers to tally observations into pre-arranged groups
• provide a clear focus for the researcher
• enable the proposal of a testable hypothesis
• allow for a more objective /scientific data recording
• provide data that is easier to quantify/analyse
• should result in greater reliability

Question 14

observer bias

Answer 14

when the observer knows the aims of the study, or hypotheses, and this knowledge influences their observations

Question 15

how to avoid observer bias

Answer 15

inter observer reliability
- using two observers who agree beforehand on their interpretation of the behavioural categories
- each observer than observes pps at the same time, but records observations independently
- recordings will be correlated using an appropriate statistical test to ascertain their level of agreement
- if observers agree, the study has inter-observer reliability

intra-observer reliability
- when an observation is video recorded so that is can be watched several times

Question 16

time sampling

Answer 16

recording all behaviours within a given time frame e.g. noting what a student is doing in a lesson every 30 seconds

Question 17

event sampling

Answer 17

recording every time a certain behaviour (or event) occurs in a target individual or individuals e.g. counting how many times a person smiles