Observational Design, Chapter 6, 9

Question 1

What is behavioural categories?

Answer 1

One important non-experimental method

It is often used within an experiment as a way. for example, of assessing the dependent variable

Question 2

What is event sampling?

Answer 2

A target behaviour or event is first established then the researcher records this event every time it occurs

Question 3

What is time sampling?

Answer 3

A target individual or group is first established then the researcher records their behaviour in a fixed time frame, say, every 60 seconds

Question 4

What is recommended?

Answer 4

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 opinion or hypothesis. This introduces bias into the research process

Question 5

How do you make data recording more objective and unbiased?

Answer 5

Observations should be carried out by at least two researchers. Then data from different observers is compared to check for consistency i.e. reliability, and this is called inter-observer reliability

Question 6

How can you check the inter-observer reliability of a set of observations?

Answer 6

By using the behavioural categories for your observational study.

Pass your list to a friend and ask them to use the list to observe a recording of the sample people for five minutes

Question 7

What are one of the key influences on the design of any observation?

Answer 7

How the researcher intends to record their data

Question 7

How do you do inter-observer reliability?

Answer 7

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

Question 8

What is an unstructured observation?

Answer 8

When the researcher writes down everything they see. This tends to produce accounts of behaviour that are rich in detail

Question 9

When may unstructured observation be used?

Answer 9

This may be appropriate when observations are small in scale and involve few participants

Question 10

What is an example of an unstructured observation?

Answer 10

Observing interaction between a couple and a therapist within a relationship support counselling session

Question 11

What are the issues with an unstructured observation?

Answer 11

There may be too much going on in a single observation for the researcher to record it all.

Therefore, it is necessary to simplify the target behaviours that will become the main focus of the investigation using behavioural categories. This then becomes a structured observation

Question 12

What are the two ways of recording data?

Answer 12

Structured observation and unstructured observation

Question 13

Why would we use behavioural categories?

Answer 13

In order to produce a structured record of what a researcher sees or hears, it is first necessary to break the target behaviour up into a set of behavioral categories

Question 14

What can we also refer to behavioural categories as?

Answer 14

A behaviour checklist

Question 15

What are behavioural categories very similar to?

Answer 15

The idea of operationalisation

Question 16

What should target behaviours be?

Answer 16

Target behaviours to be studied should be precisely defined and made observable and measurable

Question 17

What is an example of target behaviours being broken down into a set of behavioural categories?

Answer 17

For instance, the target behaviour ‘affection’ may be broken down into observational categories such as hugging, kissing, smiling, holding hands, etc

Question 18

What must these behavioural categories be?

Answer 18

Each of these behaviours must be observable- there should be no need for interferences to be made, such as ‘being loving’

Two observers might interpret this differently and thus it would not be a reliable category

Question 19

What are the issues with behavioural categories?

Answer 19

Each of these behaviours must be observable- there should be no need for interferences to be made, such as ‘being loving’

Two observers might interpret this differently and thus it would not be a reliable category

Question 20

Before the observation begins, what should the researcher ensure they have?

Answer 20

That they have, as far as possible, included all the ways in which target behaviour may occur within their behavioural checklist

Question 21

What is a key feature of unstructured observations?

Answer 21

Continuous recording of behaviour is a key feature of unstructured observations in which all instances of a target behaviour are recorded

For very complex behaviours, however this method may not be practical or feasible

Question 22

What are the sampling methods used in structured observations?

Answer 22

The researcher must use a systematic way of sampling their observations

Question 23

What are the different types of sampling in an observational design?

Answer 23

Event sampling and time sampling

Question 24

What is event sampling?

Answer 24

This involves counting the number of times a particular behaviour (the event) occurs in a target individual or group

Question 25

What is an example of event sampling?

Answer 25

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

Question 26

What is time sampling?

Answer 26

Involves recording behaviour within a pre-established time frame

Question 27

What is an example of time sampling?

Answer 27

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

Question 28

What are strengths of structured observations?

Answer 28

Structured observations that involve the use of behavioural categories make the recording of data easier and more systematic. The data produced is likely to be numerical (quantitative data) which means that analysing and comparing the behaviour observed between participants is more straightforward

Question 29

What are the limitations of unstructured observations?

Answer 29

Unstructured observations tend to produce qualitative data which may be much more difficult to record and analyse

There may be a great risk of observer bias as the objective behavioural categories that are a feature of structured observations are not present here. The researcher may only record those behaviours that ‘catch their eye’ and these may not be the most important or useful

Question 30

What are the strengths of unstructured observations?

Answer 30

They benefit from more richness and depth of detail in the data collected

Question 31

What are the strengths of behavioural categories?

Answer 31

They can make data collection more structured and objective, it is important that such categories are all clear and unambiguous as possible

Question 32

What are the requirements for behavioural categories?

Answer 32

They can make data collection more structured and objective, it is important that such categories are all clear and unambiguous as possible. They must be observable, measurable and self-evident. They should not require further interpretation

Researchers should also ensure that all possible forms of the target behaviour are included in the checklist. There should not be a ‘dustbin category’ in which many different behaviours are deposited

Categories should be exclusive and not overlap. For instance, the difference between ‘smiling’ and ‘grinning’ would be very difficult to discern

Question 33

What should researchers make ensure about the target behaviours?

Answer 33

Researchers should also ensure that all possible forms of the target behaviour are included in the checklist. There should not be a ‘dustbin category’ in which many different behaviours are deposited

Categories should be exclusive and not overlap. For instance, the difference between ‘smiling’ and ‘grinning’ would be very difficult to discern

Question 34

When is event sampling useful?

Answer 34

When the target behaviour or event happens quite infrequently and could be missed if time sampling was used

Question 35

What are the limitations of event sampling?

Answer 35

If the specified event is too complex, the observer may overlook important details. That said, those instances when behaviour is sampled might be unrepresentative of the observation as a whole

Question 36

How would time sampling be effective?

Answer 36

In reducing the number of observations that have to be made. That said, those instances when behaviour is sampled might be unrepresentative of the observation as a whole