methodology Flashcards
what is an observation
behaviour that is observed and recorded without controlling all aspects of the study
what are two types of observation
naturalistic and structured
what is naturalistic observation
takes place in pp’s natural setting without any manipulation from researcher
what is a structured observation
manipulation of an artificial setting so the same situation can be repeated with different pp’s (replicable)
a strength of naturalistic observation
high ecological validity
another strength of naturalistic observation
gathers much in depth detailed data because observers can record speech, actions, body language, and emotions.
state a weakness of naturalistic observation
subjective as observer has the choice of observing what to record so an element of interpretation
state another weakness of naturalistic observation
lacks reliability as it takes places in the pp’s natural setting which is hard to replicate.
what is non participant observation
observers are not part of the study - they sit out of the activity and are not involved.
strength of non-pp observation
the observer can record more data because they have better ability to concentrate on pp and can makes notes during the study
weakness of non-pp observation
likely to affect the situation just by their presence - they are noticeable by pp’s and so lacks validity as normal behaviour of pp’s might not be recorded
what is pp observation
when observers are part of the study
strength of pp observation
high ecological validity because pp is in a natural setting - researcher will affect the study or make it unnatural
weakness of pp observation
observer may be too involved that they don’t have time to record all the data - they can’t step back from the situation.
what is covert observation
pp does not know they are being studied (can be pp or non-pp)
