observational design AO1

Question 1

what us observational design?

Answer 1

• behavioural categories; event sampling, time sampling

Question 2

what are the issues in observational design

Answer 2

• ways of recording data
• behavioural categories
• sampling methods

Question 3

explain the ways of recording data

Answer 3

• the researcher may simply want to write down everything that they see- referred to as unstructured observation and tends to produce accounts of behaviour that are rich in detail. This may be appropriate when observations are small in scale and involve few participants
• structured observation - simplified to observing target behaviours that will become the main focus of the investigation using behavioural categories.

Question 4

what are behavioural categories sometimes referred to as?

Answer 4

a behavioural checklist

Question 5

what are behavioural categories similar to?

Answer 5

operationalisation

Question 6

explain behavioural categories

Answer 6

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

Question 7

give an example of behavioural categories for ‘affection’

Answer 7

hugging, kissing, smiling. holding hands.

Question 8

explain the two components of sampling methods

Answer 8

• event sampling
• time sampling

Question 9

what kind of observation is sampling methods used in

Answer 9

structured observations

Question 10

explain what event sampling is

Answer 10

• a target behaviour or event is first established then the researcher records this event every time it occurs
• this involves counting the number if times a particular behaviour (the event) occurs in a target individual or group.

Question 11

explain what time sampling is

Answer 11

• a target individual or group is first established
• the researcher then records their behaviour in a fixed time frame, e.g. every 60 seconds
• it involves recording behaviour within a pre-established time frame

Question 12

explain inter-observer reliability

Answer 12

• it is recommended that researchers do not conduct observational studies alone.
• Single observers may miss important details or may only notice events that confirm their opinions or hypothesis
• this introduces bias into the research process
• to make data recording more objective and unbiased, observations should be carried out by at least 2 researchers. Then data from different observers is compared to check for consistency i.e. reliability, and this is called inter-observer reliability

to do this:
- observers should familiarise themselves with the behavioural categories to be used
- they then observe the same behaviour at the same time, perhaps as part of a small-scale 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. Inter-observer reliability is calculated by correlating each pair of observations made and an overall figure is produced