Non-Experimental Methods of Investigating Behaviour - Observational Studies

Question 1

What do observations involve?

Answer 1

involve watching people’s behaviour either in a natural environment (you go to the participants) or in an artificial environment (the participants come to you)

Question 2

What are the 2 types of observational studies?

Answer 2

• participant observations
• non-participant observations

Question 3

What are participant observations?

Answer 3

• the researcher becomes part of the group they are observing
• they are actively involved in the activities of the people they are studying

Question 4

What are the strengths of participant observations?

Question 5

What are the weaknesses of participant observations?

Question 6

What are non-participant obervations?

Answer 6

• there is no direct contact between the observer and those being observed
• this means that the observer researches their participants from a distance

Question 7

What are the strengths of non-participant observations?

Question 8

What are the weaknesses of non-participant observations?

Question 9

Observations may be o_____ or c______

Answer 9

observations may be OVERT or COVERT

Question 10

What does overt mean?

Answer 10

the participants know they are being observed because the researcher has identified themselves to the participants

Question 11

What are the strengths of overt observations?

Question 12

What are the weaknesses of overt observations?

Question 13

What does covert mean?

Answer 13

• the participants do not know they are being observed
• the researcher may be watching them from a distance in a public place or behind a one-way mirror in a laboratory

Question 14

What are the strengths of covert observations?

Question 15

What are the weaknesses of covert observations?