observational design

Question 1

observational design

Answer 1

It needs to be considered how to record the behaviour that is being observed.
As human behaviour is very complex, the key problem in observing behaviour is how to select the bits we are interested in and to avoid being swamped with information.
In practice, most psychologists categorise or code behaviour rather than just record every gesture. They break down the target behaviour into components that are observable and measurable. This is called behavioural categories.
Behavioural categories need to be clearly defined (operationalised).
Observers can then record when a particular behaviour is observed.
How data is recorded is another design decision. Most observations involve producing a checklist or tally chart to keep track of how many times the behaviour has happened
Video recordings will often be made to check the accuracy of the observers. This is particularly important when there are more than one observer. This helps to check reliability.

Question 2

event sampling

Answer 2

The researcher records an event every time it happens, for example ticking a box every time someone smiles.

Question 3

time sampling

Answer 3

An individual or group is chosen first. The researcher records what is happening at a specific time. Maybe every 30 seconds. Then repeat this, recording what is happening at 30s intervals.