Observational design Flashcards
Unstructured observation
Everything recorded which can be quite difficult if a lot is going on.
Structured observation
Includes behavioural categories and sampling methods. A naturalistic method often uses structured design.
Behavioural categories
The target behaviour to be observed should be broken up into a set of observable categories. This is similar to operationalisation.
What is one limitation of using behavioural categories?
Difficult to make clear an unambiguous.
Categories should be self evident and not overlap, which is not always possible to achieve.
Smiling and grinning would be poor categories.
What is a second limitation of using behavioural categories?
Dustbin categories.
All forms of behaviour should be in one list and not in one dustbin.
Dumped behaviours go unrecorded.
Event sampling
A target behaviour/event is recorded every time it occurs.
What is a strength of event sampling?
Useful for infrequent behaviour.
The researcher will still pick up behaviours that do not occur at regular intervals.
Such behaviours could easily be missed using time sampling.
What is a limitation of event sampling?
Complex behaviour oversimplified.
If the event is too complex, important details may go unrecorded.
This may affect the validity of the findings.
Time sampling
Observations are made at regular intervals e.g. once every 15 seconds.
What is a strength of time sampling?
Reduces the number of observations.
Rather than recording everything that is seen (continuous) data is recorded at certain intervals.
The observation is more structured and systematic.
What is a limitation of time sampling?
May be unrepresentative.
The researcher may miss important details outside of the time scale.
May not reflect the whole behaviour.
What is one strength of structured observations?
Involves the use of behavioural categories making it easier to record data and more systematic.
What is a second strength of structured observations?
Data produced is likely to be numerical.
This means that analysing and comparing data between participants is more straightforward.
What is one limitation of unstructured observations?
Tend to produce qualitative data.
May be more difficult to record and analyse.
What is a second limitation of unstructured observations?
Greater risk of observer bias.
This is because there is no objective behavioural categories.
Researcher may only record behaviours that catch their eye.
What is a strength of unstructured observations?
Benefit from more richness and depth in detail in the data collected.
What is a limitation of structured observations?
Less in depth and detailed data is being collected.
Inter-observer reliability
When data from at least two observers is compared to check for consistency (reliability).
How do you check for inter-observer reliability?
- Observers should familiarise themselves with the behavioural categories to be used.
- Then they observe the same behaviour at the same time, perhaps as a pilot study.
- Observers should compare the data they have recorded and discuss any differences in interpretations.
- Finally observers should analyse the data from the study. It is calculated by correlating each pair of observations made and an overall figure is produced.
