Observational Methods Flashcards
Naturalistic Observation
Takes place in the environment the behaviour would normally occur
Researcher does not interfere
Naturalistic Observation (strengths)
High external validity
Can be more generalised to real life situations
Naturalistic Observation (weaknesses)
Difficult to replicate
May have a high level of extraneous variables
Controlled Observation
Researcher has some control over the variables may reduce the naturalness of the environment
Participants are likely to be aware they are being studied
Controlled Observation (strengths)
Specific aspects of behaviour can be focused on
Likely to be less extraneous variables
Controlled Observation (weaknesses)
Low external validity
Behaviour may be less natural
Covert Observation
Participants will have no knowledge they are being observed
Are likely to be informed afterwards to ensure ethics
Covert Observation (strengths)
Behaviour is more natural and removes the issue of demand characteristics
High internal validity
Covert Observation (weaknesses)
Ethical issues of consent and privacy
Overt Observation
Participants are aware they are being observed and have given informed consent
Overt Observation (strengths)
More ethically acceptable
Overt Observation (weaknesses)
Demand characteristics
Participant Observation
An observer becomes part of the group they are observing
Could be either covert or overt
Participant Observation (strengths)
Helps provide more insight into behaviour
Participant Observation (weaknesses)
Research and may start to identify with a group of participants and could lose objectivity ‘going native’
Non-Participant Observation
Observer keeps a distance and does not interact with the participants
Non-Participant Observation (strengths)
More likely to be objective
Non-Participant Observation (weaknesses)
Observers may not gain as much insight
Structured Observation
Has pre-determined behaviours and sampling methods
Appropriate for larger observations
Structured Observation (strengths)
Recording data is more systematic
Produces quantitive data which is easy to analyse
Structured Observation (weaknesses)
Lacks detail
Unstructured Observation
The researcher writes down everything that they see
Produces rich data
Appropriate in small observations
Unstructured Observation (strengths)
More detailed and rich data
Unstructured Observation (weaknesses)
Produces qualitative data, which is more difficult to record and analyse
Greater risk of researcher bias as there are no behavioural categories
Behavioural Categories
Breaking down target behaviours into components which are observable and measurable
Behavioural Categories (strengths)
Data collection is more structured and objective
Behavioural Categories (weaknesses)
Can be problematic if the behaviour categories are not clear and overlap
If all the categories of the target behaviour not included, it can result in a ‘dustbin’ category which many different behaviours are deposited in
Event Sampling
Structured
A target behaviour is established and it is recorded every time it occurs
Event Sampling (strengths)
Useful when target behaviours happen, infrequently and could be missed if time sampling is used
Event Sampling (weaknesses)
If the target behaviour is too complex, the observer may overlook important details
Time Sampling
Structured
A target individual is identified, and then the research records their behaviour in a fixed time
Time Sampling (strengths)
Effective in reducing the number of observations that have to be made
Time Sampling (weaknesses)
Times when the behaviour is sampled may be unrepresentative of the observation as a whole
Continuous Recording
Unstructured
All target behaviours are recorded
Inter-Observer Reliability
Single observers may miss important details on my only notice events that confirmed that hypothesis (researcher bias)
Test-retest can be done solo by recording with a camera or going over it again and doing another observation
Observations should be carried out by at least two researchers
