Nov. 26/28th - Chapter 6: Observational Methods Flashcards
READINGS
Achieving the goal of understanding real-world phenomena - 2 methods
- Quantitative
- Qualitative
Quantitative Approach
- …numeric data, then analyzed using statistics
- Involves collecting data in the form of numbers
- EX: self-reports, reaction-time tasks, physiological measures = numeric data
Qualitative approach:
- non-numerical form; using an interpretive approach
- Offers deep descriptions of peoples behaviour in natural settings, through people explaining their experiences in their own words
- Involves collecting in-depth info on few individuals or within a limited setting, and conclusions are based on interpretations of the investigator
- Greater variety in the paradigms/procedures associated with qualitative approaches
MAIN IDEA: THE COLLECTION & INTERPRETATION OF ANY FORM OF DATA OTHER THAN NUMBERS CONSTITUTES A QUALITATIVE APPROACH. RATHER THAN A STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF NUMBERS, A QUALITATIVE REPORT MAY DESCRIBE DIFFERENT THEMES THAT EMERGED FROM ANSWERS
- In some cases, qualitive data might be collected and then converted into numbers for a quantitative statistical analysis
- Would still be considered a qualitative approach, as non-numerical data are being collected
Naturalistic Observation:
- research method in which researchers immerse themselves in a particular natural setting
- Observations are typically made over an extended period of time using a variety of information-collection techniques
Naturalistic Observation: Field Notes
- Data can be gathered in the form of detailed field notes
- Field notes can include information about all aspects of a situation, including:
o Setting
o Patterns of personal relationships
o People’s reactions 2 events
Naturalistic Observation: Need not rely solely on passive observation, but can also involve…
- Interviewing key informants to gain inside information
- Talking to people about their lives
- Taking pictures of the environment
2 goals for researchers:
Naturalistic Observation
- The first goal of researchers is to describe the setting, events, and persons observed
- The second is to interpret what was observed; depending on the specific qualitative approach used, this may involve identifying common themes (as in phenomenology) or developing a theory that can generate hypotheses for future work
- Final report may reflect the chronological order of events or it can be organized around the theory developed by the researcher
- Specific examples of events that occurred during observation are often used to support and illustrate the researcher’s interpretations
- Good reports support validity of the interpretation by using multiple sources of confirming evidence
- Published qualitative report includes both specific observations and the researcher’s observations
2 Key Issues in naturalistic observation: Overview
- whether to actively participate in the situation you’re studying, or not to participate but still observe
- whether to conceal your purpose or presence from the other people in the setting
What combinations of approaches can be used?
Naturalistic Observation
- Qualitative approach
- Mixed approach - gathering quantitative in addition to qualitative
- Fully quantitative approach - collecting only numerical data
2 Key Issues in naturalistic observation:
Active participation - yes or no?
Non-participant observer, Participant observer
- whether to actively participate in the situation you’re studying, or not to participate but still observe
- Non-participant observer: outsider who does not become an active part of the setting being observed
- Participant observer: assumes an active, insider role; participant observation allows the researcher to observe the setting from inside, allowing researchers to experience event in the same way as the other participants
Issues with Partipant Observers
- Potential problem: observer may lose the objectivity necessary to conduct scientific observation
- Remaining objective my be especially difficult when the researcher already belongs to the group being studied and identifies with that community
- There is great risk that the observations with be biased
2 Key Issues in naturalistic observation:
Whether to conceal your purpose or presence from the other people in the setting
Concealed observation, Non-concealed observation
- Do you tell the rest of the group that you’re a researcher interested in studying them? Do you allow people to be aware that you’re present and observing
- Concealed observation - concealed presence
- Preferable, as the presence of the observer may influence the behaviour of those being observed; results in less participant reactivity. If people are unaware of them being observed, they can’t react to this act of observation
- Can be preferred from an ethical viewpoint
- Non-concealed observation
- Can become non-problematic as reactivity can subside quickly, as in people becoming used to the observer and behaving naturally in the observer’s presence
- Especially when observer isn’t physically present, but the study is rather being recorded (which provide a rich source of qualitative data
Naturalistic Observation
HOW TO DECIDE ONE’S PRESENCE OR PURPOSE
- Depends on ethical concerns and on nature of the particular group being studied
- There are degrees of participation and concealment: a non-participant observer may not become a member of the group, but may over time become accepted as a friend or simply part of the ongoing activities of the group
EXCEPTIONS for informed consent in naturalistic observation
- **Observation in public places when anonymity is not threatened and behaviour is not manipulated **is typically considered exempt from ethical review
- In such situations, informed consent is usually unnecessary
- Overall, researchers must be sensitive to ethical issues when conducting naturalistic observation
- Consider whether observations are made in a public place, with no clear expectations that behaviour will be private
- Issues of informed consent resurface when collecting data with the audio-recording devices, as p’s become so used to it
- To ensure ongoing informed consent, participants are given all audio files before data analysis
Naturalistic observation cannot be used to study all issues
Useful…
- When investigating social settings
- For gathering data in real-life settings and generating hypotheses for later lab experiments
- High ecological validity: Conducted in situations similar to everyday life
Naturalistic observation cannot be used to study all issues
Difficult…
- In controlling the setting in naturalistic observation
- In challenging to test well-defined hypotheses under specified conditions
- To conduct overall: Cannot be scheduled at a convenient time, place (Similar to field experiments in general)
- Process of interpreting data: Researchers sort through broad measures to identify common themes, develop hypotheses, code data….
- Can’t generalize (LOW EXTERNAL VALIDITY)
- Reactivity vs. ethics
Systemic Observation:
The careful observation of one or more specific behaviours in a particular setting
* Unlike naturalistic obs., which takes place in the real world, systematic obs. is often created by the researcher
* A lot less common
* Often used within a quantitative rather than qualitative approach
* Researcher is interested in only a few very specific behaviours
* Observation of these behaviours are easily quantifiable
* Researcher has strong hypotheses about the behaviours
Systemic Observation
What 3 things must researchers establish?
- Which behaviours are of interest
- Choose a specific setting in which the behaviours can be observed
- Develop a coding scheme to record and categorize observations
Systemic Observation
Coding Schemes
Purpose is to quantify qualitative observations, written responses, live actions, or images produced by participants
- Should be as simple as possible, allowing observers to easily categorize behaviours
- Especially important in coding live behaviours rather than viewing videotapes
- Videotaping p’s is often preferable, so that observers can carefully review their coding
How can researchers develop coding
If only coding for a few things, you want to be confident that you’re coding the right ones and not missing anything important
- Researchers might choose to conduct a naturalistic observation study to help them come up with meaningful categories for their coding scheme, which they could then use to code behaviours observed in a more controlled systematic observation study
- Sometimes researchers use coding schemes that have been developed by others; major advantage is that research already exists that validates the coding scheme’s use for particular purposes, and training materials are usually available
Issues in systematic observation:
- Inter-rater reliability
- Participant reactivity
- Sampling behaviours
Issues in systematic observation
Inter-Rater Reliability
What level in published research? Achievable with live coding?
- When conducting systematic observation, two or more raters are tasked with coding the behaviours; reliability is indicated by high agreement
- High levels of agreement in all published research - because coders are often trained extensively on the coding scheme before they begin coding the data in question (practicing on prior or example data)
- Can be difficult to obtain high inter-rater reliability with live coding, unless the coding scheme is very simple
- Video-recording has the advantage of providing a permanent record that can be coded later by many observers
Also means that coding can be double-checked
Issues in systematic observation
Participant reactivity
Presence of observer can affect p’s behaviours by producing p reactivity (like in naturalistic observation)
* ** Can be reduced by** *concealed observation *(EX: one way mirrors, hidden cameras)
* Esp. important to debrief p’s and offer the opportunity to forbid researchers to use their data when concealed tools are used
* Also by allowing enough time for people to become used to the presence of the observer and recording equipment