observational designs Flashcards
what is observer bias?
an observer’s reports are biased by what they expect to see
how to solve observer bias?
inter observer reliablity
what is inter observer reliablity?
many researchers conduct the observation, then compare reports and a score is calculated using
the total number of agreements / total number of observations x 100
what is a score that shows high inter observer reliablity?
above 80%
describe an unstructured observation design
continuous recording where the reseracher records everything they see during the observation
give a strength of an unstructured observational design
- more depth of detail
give limitations of an unstructured observational design
- produces qualitative data which is more difficult to record and analyse
- observer bias eg. only record ‘catch the eye’ behaviours
describe a structured observational design
reseracher quantifies what they are observing using a predetermined list of behaviours and sampling methods
give strengths of a structured observational design
- easier as more systematic
- quantitative data is easier to analyse and compare
- less risk of observer bias
give limitations of a structured observational design
- not much detail
- hard to achieve high inter observer reliability as catergories are subjective
when conducting structured observations , what are the 2 types of sampling methods?
- time sampling
- event sampling
describe time sampling
recording of behaviour is within a pre-determined timeframe
what is a strength of using time sampling?
-reduces number of observations that has to be made so less time consuming
what is a limitation of using time sampling?
- the small amount of data is unrepresentative of the whole observation
describe event sampling
counting the number of times a particular behaviour is carried out
