observational research methods. twin and adoption studies Flashcards
what is naturalistic observation?
recording of spontaneously occurring behaviour that takes place where behaviour would typically happen with no controlled variables and covert
strength of naturalistic observation
high ecological validity + generalisability
high validity as it can gather ALL and rich data with observers collecting info on speech interactions body language etc
weaknesses of naturalistic observations
low validity if researchers cannot remain hidden, lack of control over extraneous variables so low reliability and no cause and effect relationships between variables est, deception
what is structured observation?
recording of spontaneously occurring behaviour but under conditions decided upon by the researcher
strengths of structured observations
more control over the environment than naturalistic - more accurate as high standardised- high reliability
weaknesses of structured observations
low eco-valid- behaviour is recorded in structured categories, lab-based environment, ppt may be aware so low validity. cannot attribute causality between IV and DV as there may be issues controlling variables
what is participant observation?
involve observers being part of the group studied with or without their knowledge- they are involved with the activity
strengths of participant observation
meaningful observations as the observers are part of what’s happening so data gathered is richer- high ecological validity as people should continue about their business in an everyday manner unless overt
weaknesses of participant observation
difficult to record observations of behaviour at the time it happens as observers are involved with what is happening + data may be prone to bias since it relies on researchers to recall info- researchers may become too involved and less objective and this may influence their natural behaviour affecting validity and ethical issues
what is non-ppt observation?
observers who are not part of what’s being observed may still be apart or observe one way
strengths of non-ppt observation
high validity-accuracy is high as the observer has no role in what is happening so they can focus on data collection and objectivity will be higher as observer has no role in activities being observed
weakness of non-ppt observation
little understanding of what’s happening so low validity and ethical issues
what is continuous observation?
the observer records every instance of behaviour- useful if the behaviour doesn’t occur often but there’s too much data
what is time sampling?
recording target behaviour for set lengths of time at set intervals reduces time spent observing reducing fatigue for the researcher increasing accuracy and there’s a gap for any additional notes
what is event sampling?
recording certain behaviour every time it occurs in a target individual or group of individuals throughout the observation period- limits behaviours needed to be observed reducing chance behaviour of interest will be missed but hard to observe a;; events if there are a large number of people to observe
what is content analysis?
research technique for systematic quantitative description of the content in written, spoken, and visual communication
what is the process of content analysis?
1) research q and hypothesis- shapes the research
2)sampling- material of interest is defined, decide how much info will be analysed
3) coding units
4)pilot studies
5) collecting datas
