observational design

Question 1

what are two ways of recording data

Answer 1

unstructured observation, structured observation

Question 2

unstructured observation

Answer 2

when the researcher writes down everything that they see.

Question 3

what type of data does unstructured observation create

Answer 3

accounts of behaviour which are rich in detail

Question 4

when is unstructured observation appropriate

Answer 4

when observations are small scale and do not involve lots of participants

Question 5

structured observation

Answer 5

simplifying target behaviours using behaviour categories

Question 6

when is structured observation used

Answer 6

when there is to much going on in a single observation for researchers to record it all

Question 7

behavioural categories

Answer 7

when a target behaviour is broken up into components that are observable and measurable (operalisational)

Question 8

what should behavioural categories include

Answer 8

all ways the researcher should ensure that they have as possible, included all the ways in which the target behaviour may occur within their behavioural checklist. there should be no need for infereneces to be made

Question 9

types of sampling method

Answer 9

event sampling, time sampling

Question 10

when would sampling (event and time) methods be used

Answer 10

in structured observations, when it is impractical to write down all observations of target behaviour

Question 11

event sampling

Answer 11

counting the number of times a particular behaviour occurs in a target individual or group

Question 12

time sampling

Answer 12

involves recording behaviour within a pre-established time frame.

Question 13

event sampling example

Answer 13

event sampling of dissent at a football match would mean counting the number of times players disagree with the referee

Question 14

time sampling example

Answer 14

in a particular football match we may only be interested in one specific player so we may take note (using a behavioural checklist) of what our target individual is doing every 30 seconds

Question 15

inter-observer reliability

Answer 15

to make data recording more objective and unbiased, observations should be carried out by at least two researchers. the data from different observers is then compared to check for consistency

Question 16

why is inter-observer reliability used

Answer 16

single observers may miss important details or may only notice events that confirm their opinions or hypothesis, introducing bias into the process

Question 17

how is inter-observer reliability carried out

Answer 17

-observers should familiarise themselves with behavioural categories to be used
-they then observe the same behaviour at the same time, perhaps as part of a pilot study
-observers compare data and discuss differences in interpretations
-observers should analyse the data and inter-observer reliability is calculated by correlating each pair of observations made and an overall figure is produced

Question 18

structured observation strengths

Answer 18

-behavioural categories used make it easier to record data and more systematic
-data produced is likely to be numerical so analysing and comparing behaviour observed is more straight forward

Question 19

structured observation limitation

Answer 19

less richness in detail and depth of observations

Question 20

unstructured observation strengths

Answer 20

more richness and depth of detail in the data collected

Question 21

unstructured observation limitations

Answer 21

-produce qualitative data which may be more difficult to record and analyse
-greater risk of observer bias as researcher may only record those behaviours that catch their eye which may not be the most important or useful

Question 22

behavioual categories evaluation

Answer 22

-can make data more collection more structures and objective, it is important that they are as clear unambiguous as possible so they do not require further interpretation
-all forms of target behaviour must be included in the checklist and there should not be a ‘dustbin’ category in which may different behaviours are deposited
-categories should be exclusive and not overlap

Question 23

event sampling strengths

Answer 23

useful when target behaviour or event happens infrequently and could be missed if time sampling was used

Question 24

event sampling limitation

Answer 24

if event is too complex, the observer may overlook important details

Question 25

time sampling strengths

Answer 25

effective in reducing the number of observations made

Question 26

time sampling limitations

Answer 26

instances when behaviour is sampled might be unrepersentative of the observation as a whole