Obesrvational Design Flashcards
Unstructured Observation
- researcher writes down everything they see => produces accounts of behaviour w/ a lot of detail
- best for small observations w/ a few pps
Structured Observation
- simplifying target behaviours (main focus of investigation) into categories
e.g. affection = smiling, holding hands, hugging
no need for inference so 2 observers may interpret diff.
Event Sampling
Involves counting number of times a particular behaviour occurs
Time Sampling
Recording behaviour that occurs in a fixed time frame thats pre-established
AO3 Structured observations (S)
- use of behavioural categories make recording data easier to be quantitative => easier to compare between pps
AO3 of Structured Observation (L)
- researcher may only record behaviours that are ‘eye-catching’ and may not be most important
AO3 of Unstructured observation (S)
More richness + depth of detail in data collected
AO3 of Unstructured Observation (L)
- produces qualitative data which is more difficult to record + analyse
- greater risk of observer bias
Behavioural Categories
when a target behaviour is broken into components that are observable + measurable
Behavioural Categories - Requirements
- categories should be clear + unambiguous
- observable, measurable + self-evident
- all possible forms of behaviour are included in checklist
- should be exclusive + not overlap
Event Sampling AO3 (S)
Useful when target behaviour is infrequent + could be missed by time sampling
Event Sampling (L)
- if specified event is too complex, observer may overlook important details
Time Sampling (S)
- effective in reducing number of observations that have to be made
Time Sampling (L)
- instances when behaviour is sampled might be unrepresentative of observation as a whole
