observational methods Flashcards
what are structured observations
the researcher will prepare a tally chart with behavioural categories they will look for. They will put a tally mark each time they observe the behviour
more likely to produce quantitative data
what are unstructured observations
observer notes down the nature of key behaviours as they occur
more likely to produce qualitative data
what is a naturalistic observation
the behaviour is observed in a natural setting. The psychologist doesnt influence the behaviour of those being observed
what is a controlled observation
the psychologist attempts to control some variables. the most common way of doing this is to carry out the observation in a lab
what is a participant observation
the researcher joins the group and takes part in the activities
what is non participant observation
the psychologist observes the group from the outside without joining in with the activities
what is an overt observation
the ppts being observed know they are being observed for the purposes of the research. they often know why they are being observed
what is a covert observation
the researcher doesnt inform the ppts they are being observed
weakness of controlled
findings that cannot be applied to every day settings
weakness of naturalistic
lack of control
makes replication difficult
uncontrolled extreneous variables
strengths of naturalistic
high external validity
natural envirinoment
strengths of controlled
extraneous variables may be less of a factor so replication becomes easier
strengths of paticipant
can experience the situation as the ppts do
increases the validity of the findings
strengths of non participant
allows researcher to maintain a objective psychological distance
weaknesses of participant
researcher may loose objectivity
‘going native’ when line between researcher is blurred
weaknesses of non participant
may loose valuable insight
strengths of overt
more ethically acceptable as it allows consent to be collected
weaknesses of overt
influences their behviour (demand characterisitcs)
may not be natural behaviour
strengths of covert
removes demand characterisitcs
more natural
increases validity of data
weaknesses of covert
ethics may be questioned
what is structured data recording
quantatative data
straight forward
what is unstructured data recording
qualitative data which is more difficult to analyse
more depth
risk of observer bias
what are behavioural catagories
breaking target behaviour up into a set of behavioural categories
positives of behavioural catagories
more structured and objective
negatives of behavioural catagories
catagories have to be clear and unambigous and should not require further interpritation
all possible forms of target behaviour must be included
categories must be exclusive and not overlap
what is event sampling
counting the number of times a certain behaviour occurs.
what is time sampling
recording behaviour within pre established time frame
advantages of using event sampling
useful when an event happens quite infrequently and could be missed if time sampling was used
advantages of using time sampling
reduced number of observations that had to be made
what is inter-observer reliability
recommended that researchers do not conduct research alone
single observers may miss important details which introduces bias
advantages of using inter-observer reliability
makes data more objective and unbiased
how to carry out inter-observer reliability
observers should familiarise themselves with behavioural categories to be used
they then observe the same behaviour at the same time
observes should compare the data they have recorded and discuss any differences in the interpritations
observers should analyse the data, correlating each pair of observations made and an overall figure is produced
disadvantages of using inter-observer reliability
requires training as observers need to code behaviour in the same way
advantages of using inter-observer reliability
reduces the chance of observer bias (an observer seeing what they want to see)
