Observational studies Flashcards

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1
Q

what are the types of observation

A

1) naturalistic vs controlled
2) overt vs covert
3) participant vs non-participant

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2
Q

what are naturalistic observations

A

an observation carried out in an everyday setting in which the observer doesn’t interfere in any way just merely looks at behaviours

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3
Q

what are controlled observations

A

a form of observation in which behaviour is observed but under conditions where certain variables have been organised by the researcher

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4
Q

what are overt observations

A

observational studies in which the pps are aware their behaviours are being studied

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5
Q

what are covert observations

A

observational studies in which the pps behaviour is being studied without their knowlege

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6
Q

what are participant observations

A

observations made by someone who is also participating in the study

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7
Q

what are non-participant studies

A

the observer is separate to the individuals being observed

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8
Q

evaluate naturalistic vs controlled observations

A

+ naturalistic provides a realistic picture of spontaneous behaviour so has high ecological validity
+ controlled allows focus on a certain aspect of behaviour

  • naturalistic has little control over all other things meaning an unknown event could be the cause of behaviour observed
  • controlled environment feels artificial so behaviour may differ
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9
Q

evaluate overt vs covert observations

A

+ covert observations pps are unaware of observation and thus behaviour is more natural

  • overt= pps aware they are being studied so pps may respond to demand characteristics affecting behaviour
  • covert= pps cant give informed consent, although it may be possible to gain retrospective consent
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10
Q

evaluate participant vs non-participant observations

A

+ pps= provides special insight into the behavior from the inside which otherwise may not be gained
+ non= observers are likely to be more objective

  • pps= more likely to be overt and thus have issues of pps awareness such as demand characteristics or social desirability
  • non= more likely to be covert, ethical issues
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11
Q

what is a weakness of observations

A
  • observer bias

- only observable data is collected not data about thoughts or feelings

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12
Q

what is a strength of using observations

A

+ high validity= record what people actually do, not what they say they do
+ capture spontaneous or unexpected behavior

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13
Q

what is observer bias

A

when the expectations of the observer affect what they see or hear. This reduces that validity of the study

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14
Q

what are types of observational design

A

1) unstructured observations
2) structured observations
3) behavioral categories
4) sampling procedures

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15
Q

define structured vs unstructured observations

A

1) researchers use various systems to organize observations, such as behavioral categories and sampling procedures
2) researcher records all relevant behaviors but has no system

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16
Q

what are behavioural categories

A

dividing a target behavior into a subset of specific and operationalized behaviours

17
Q

what are sampling procedures

A

1) event sampling

2) time sampling

18
Q

define event sampling

A

an observational technique in which a count is kept of the number of times a certain behaviour occurs

19
Q

define time sampling

A

an observational technique in which the observer records behaviors over a given time frame eg every minute

20
Q

evaluate unstructured observations

A
  • there may be too many behaviors to record
  • behaviors recorded will be the biggest or eye-catching behaviors, these may not necessarily be important

+ often used in piolet studies to figure out behavioral categories for main study