non - experimental research observational methods Flashcards
Overview
- Goals of observational methods
- Subjectivity & objectivity in observations
- Naturalistic & structured observations
Observational measures in qualitative, correlational, and experimental designs
Goals of observational methods
- Describe behaviour in a way that is verifiable
- Describe the variables that are present and the relations among them
Test hypotheses
Subjectivity and objectivity
Dallenbach and other researchers used the introspective method because they were interested in the conscious experience of a situation or task.
Subjectivity & Objectivity
when we can verify someyhwimhg with two or more observers
- Researchers using the introspective method had rigorous training to eliminate bias in self-observations
- But introspection is fundamentally subjective: I cannot verify your introspections and you cannot verify mine
- Introspection therefore violates the principle of objectivity – the idea that science produces public knowledge
The shift away from the introspective method led to the development of a specific criterion for measuring behaviour – that it can be verified by two or more observers
types of observation
- In naturalistic observations researchers study the behaviours of humans and other species in their normal environments
- Structured observations allow researchers to evaluate responses to specific situations - allows researchers to evaluate specific set of behaviours eg aisnworths ss
Shared features of naturalistic & structured observations
Behaviour does not create a record
- Observers
Interpretation - interpretative component of observational data
Methodological Challenges for
Observational Methods
- Absence of control - limits our causal inferences
- Reliability
- Observer bias - address with coding categories being checked across multiple raters - inter-rater reliability
- Participant reactivity
- Ethics
- informed Consent - changes observation as ptps know
Recording behaviour - ptps need to know they are being recorded in advance
- informed Consent - changes observation as ptps know
Observation in Qualitative Research - festinger
- Leon Festinger & colleagues joined a group predicting an apocalypse - naturalistic observation - what happened when people heard evidence inconsistent with their beliefs
- Observers did not reveal their purpose in the group
- Observers relied on memory
- The influx of new people joining the group changed the group - no awareness of researchers but know inc in membership a change not consistent with naturalistic observations
named it Theory of cognitive dissonance - changed bevies to accomodate the dissonance
present in group day ‘acpolcalyse happened’ - didn’t
members made excuses eg date changed due to increase in group members
issues -
- can’t evaluate reliability - no record
- small sample - not representative
- joined group to observe them - ethical issue
Observation in Qualitative Research
- Qualitative research is subjective: it aims to capture an individual’s point of view & acknowledges that our understanding of reality can only be approximate, not exact.
- Qualitative research is concerned with the richness of description.
- Qualitative research is narrative rather than quantitative.
Qualitative research is iterative.
types of analysis
grounded theory - uses categories to unite and explain data
discourse analysis - evaluates talk as social action
thematic analysis - less specialised, less dependent on theory
conversation analysis - structure of conversation. Jefferson transcription
observation in correlational research
Crowley, Callanan, Tenenbaum & Allen (2001) observed parent-child conversations about science in a science museum.
Children in consenting families (N=298) were given a sticker which also indicated age. - got informed consent
Conversations were coded for explanations, directions, and evidence.
Explanation included:
* causal connections within the exhibit interface (e.g., “When you turn that fast, it makes more electricity” at an exhibit including a hand-cranked generator),
* relations between observed phenomena and more general principles (e.g., “You see all those colors because the bubble reflects different kinds of light” at an exhibit where visitors can pull a sheet of bubbles up in front of a black background), and
* analogies to related phenomena (e.g., “This is just like that one time when our plants died because we forgot to water them” during a time-lapse video of withering bean sprouts).
Reliability was assessed by having 20% of the interactions coded by more than one rater.
Lee & Aronson (1974)
predicted that moving the room forward would produce optic flow patterns similar to what would normally accompany backward body sway, leading infants to adjust to counteract this apparent backward sway, which would result in infants swaying forward
“The behavioral response to a swing of the room was categorized according to the scheme shown in Table 1. Unless there was a clear change in posture during the 2.5 sec that the room was moving, a “zero” response was recorded” (Lee & Aronson, 1974, p. 531).
summary
Observational methods broaden the questions we can address – whether within qualitative, correlational, or experimental designs.
Observational methods also bring risks.
We can use careful design to address those risks and create opportunities for clear evidence that will help us address valuable research questions with benefits for all areas of psychology.
varieties of observational research
naturalistic or participant observation
some observational studies are more global observing a variety of behaviours while others are narrower focusing on specific behaviour.
researchers also place a varying degree of structure on the setting being observed. this can range from zero when the researcher simply enters some environment and observes behaviour without trying to influence it in any way to quite a bit, when the researcher creates a structured setting and observes what occurs in it.
studies with a higher degree of structure often take place in a laboratory environment and are sometimes called laboratory observation studies.
naturalistic observation
the goal is to study the behaviours of people or animals as they act in their everyday environments. in some cases semi-artificial environments are sufficiently ‘natural’ for the research to be considered a naturalistic observation.
In order for the researcher to feel confident the behavior being observed is typical in the observed environment, it is important that it not be affected by the experimenter’s presence. There are two strategies for accomplishing this. First, in some naturalistic studies, the observer is hidden from those being observed. In other studies, the observer may not be present at all; some naturalistic observation studies (including Research Example 29, described later in this chapter) use video recorders. The videos are viewed later and scored for the behaviors being investigated. In some naturalistic observations, especially those involving animals, it can be impossible for the observer to remain hidden; the subjects quickly sense the presence of an outsider. Under these circumstances, the observer typically makes no attempt to hide. Rather, it is hoped that after time, the animals will become so habituated to the observer that they will behave normally. With some species, the process can take quite a bit of time.