observational design

Question 1

how are unstructured observations done?

Answer 1

all relevant behaviour is recorded and no system of recording
behaviour is used.

Question 2

what is the problem with unstructured observations?

Answer 2

there could be too much info to record. some behaviour recorded might not be relevant/important

Question 3

when may a researcher use unstructured observation ?

Answer 3

where research has not been carried out before, as a kind of ‘pilot study’ to see what behaviours might be recorded using a structured system.

Question 4

are structured or unstructured observations better for objectivity?

Answer 4

structured

Question 5

how are structured observations done?

Answer 5

various systems are used to record behaviour

Question 6

what are the two main ways to structure observation?

Answer 6

1. behavioural categories
2. sampling procedures

Question 7

how is behaviour operationalised?

Answer 7

through behavioural categories. this involves breaking the target behaviour (e.g. aggression) into components that can be observed and measured (e.g. hitting, kicking).

Question 8

what 3 things should behavioural categories be?

Answer 8

-objective
-cover all possible component behaviours
-be mutually exclusive(not overlap)

Question 9

when is continuous observation not possible?

Answer 9

when there is too much data to record

Question 10

what are the two types of sampling observations

Answer 10

event sampling
time sampling

Question 11

what is event sampling?

Answer 11

it is where an observer records the number of times a certain behaviour occurs.

Question 12

what is time sampling?

Answer 12

where an observer records behaviour at prescribed intervals. For example, every 10 seconds.

Question 13

what is the disadvantage of only one observer?

Answer 13

they could be biased or miss data

Question 14

how is reliability improved in observations?

Answer 14

2 or more observers should be used

Question 15

what is inter-observer reliability?

Answer 15

refers to the extent to which two or more observers are observing and recording behaviour in the same way.

Question 16

how does inter-rater reliability work?

Answer 16

1.The two observers should (together) agree beforehand the behavioural categories and their interpretations of them.

2.They should then carry out the observation at the same time as each other but independently (separately)

3.Scores of the two observers should then be correlated using an appropriate statistical test. A positive correlation of 0.8 or above indicates high inter-observer reliability (they do have the same recording of the behaviour down).

Question 17

what is another term for inter-observer reliability?

Answer 17

inter-rater reliability