Observational Technique Flashcards
Observational Technique
-A way of seeing or listening to what people do without having to ask them.
-Observation is often used within an experiment as a way of assessing the DV
A03 (Capture What People Do)
E- People often act differently from how they say they will in self-report methods
E- Observations are useful as they give insight into spontaneous behaviour.
AO3 (Risk Of Observer Bias)
E- Researcher’s interpretation of the situation may be affected by expectations)
E- Bias can be reduced using more than one observer
Naturalistic
Takes place where the target behaviour would normally occur
A03 (High External Validity)
E- In a natural context, behaviour is likely to be more spontaneous.
E- More generalisable to everyday life
AO3 (Low Control)
E- There may be uncontrolled CVs/EVs
E- Makes it more difficult to detect patterns
Controlled
Some control/manipulation of variables including control of CVs/EVs
AO3 (Can Be Replicated)
E- More easily repeated due to standardised procedures
E- Findings can be checked to see if they occur again.
A03 (May Have Low External Validity)
E- Behaviour may be contrived as a result of the setting
E- Findings cannot be applied to everyday experience
Covert
Participants are unaware they are being studied
A03 (Demand Characteristics Reduced)
E- Participants do not know they are being watched so their behaviour will be more natural.
E- This increases the internal validity of the findings
A03 (Ethically Questionable)
E- People may not want behaviour recorded, even in public
E- Participants’ right to privacy may be affected
Overt
Participants are aware of being studied
A03 (More Ethically Acceptable)
E- Participants have given their consent to be studied
E- They have the right to withdraw if they wish
A03 (Demand Characteristics)
E- Knowledge of being studied influences behaviour
E- Reduces the internal validity of the findings
Participant Observation
Researcher becomes part of group they are studying
A03 (Can Lead To Greater Insight)
E- Researcher experiences the situation as the participants do
E- This enhances the external validity of the findings
A03 (Possible Loss Of Objectivity)
E- The researcher may identify too strongly with those they are studying (‘going native’)
E- This threatens the objectivity and internal validity of the findings
Non-Participant Observation
Researcher remains separate from the group they are studying
A03 (More Objective)
E- Researcher maintains an objective distance so less chance of bias
E- May increase the internal validity of the findings
A03 (Loss Of Insight)
E- Researcher may be too far removed from those they are studying
E- May reduce the external validity of the findings
Unstructured Observation
Everything is recorded which can be quite difficult if a lot is going on
Structured Observation
-Includes behavioural categories and sampling methods
-A naturalistic observation often uses structured design
