observation design Flashcards
behavioural categories
when a target behaviour is broken up into components that are observable and measureable
unstructured observation
-the researcher may simply want to write down everything they see
-tends to produce accounts of behaviour that are rich in detail
appropriate when observations are small in scale and involve few participants
structured observation
simplifying the target behavioura that will become the main focus of the investigation using behavioural categories
ways of recording data
- observations ( unstructured + structured )
- behavioural categories
- sampling methods ( time and event sampling )
behavioural categories
in order to produce a structured record of what a researcher sees, it is necessary to break the target behaviour up into these categories
how are target behaviors studied ?
they should be precisely defined and made observable and measureable
what is continous recording ?
it is a key feature of unstructured observations in which all instances of a target behaviour are recorded
is continous recording suitable for very complex behaviours ?
this method may not be practical and feasible
what is event sampling ?
counting the number of times a particular behaviour occurs in a target individual or group
what is time sampling ?
recording behaviour within a pre established time frame
evaluation of structured observation
strengths:
use of behavioural categories - recording of data is easier and more systematic
quantitative data so its straight forward
evaluation of unstructured observation
strength:
benefit from more richness and depth of detail
limitation:
qualitative data - more difficult to record and analyse
observer bias so no behavioural categories
evaluation of behavioural categories
- it is important that the categories are clear and unambiguous as possible - not requiring further interpretation
- all forms of the target behaviour are included in the checklist
- categories shouod he exclusive and no overlap
evaluation of event sampling
strength:
- useful when the target behaviour or event happens quite infrequently and could be missed if time sampling was used
limitation:
- if event is too complex, observer may overlook important details
evaluation of time sampling
strength:
effective in reducing the number of observations that have to be made
however may be unrepresentative of the observation
