observational techniques Flashcards
what is an observational study?
● watching and recording people’s behaviour
● no independent variable (no manipulation of behaviour)
what are the types of observations?
● controlled / naturalistic
● covert / overt
● participant / non-participant
what is a controlled observation?
conducted in lab or controlled environment
what are the strengths of controlled observations?
● standardised procedure used - study can be repeated and checked for reliability
● high control of the extraneous variables - increases the internal validity of the study
what are the limitations of controlled observations?
low ecological validity
what is naturalistic observation?
takes place in environment where target behaviour would usually occur
what are the strengths of naturalistic observations?
high ecological validity - natural environment so participants more likely to behave naturally
what are the limitations of naturalistic observations?
● difficult to control extraneous variables - natural environment
● difficult to maintain a standardised procedure -study takes place in real world
what is a covert observation?
participants unaware they’re being observed
what are the strengths of covert observations?
● less demand characteristics - participants do not know they are being observed
● high ecological validity
what are the limitations of covert observation?
breaks ethical guidelines - don’t have informed consent
what are the strengths of overt observation?
ethical - have informed consent of participant
what are the limitations of overt observation?
● more demand characteristics
● low ecological validity
what is participant observation?
● observer becomes part of group they are studying
● first-hand account of what they have observed
what are the strengths of participant observation?
● researcher can experience situation as participants do
● giving them increased insight into lives of people being studied
● therefore, increasing validity of the results
what are the limitations of participant observation?
observer bias - researcher may get too involved in study and lose focus and objectivity
what is non-participant observation?
researcher remains separate from those they are studying
what are the strengths of non-participant observation?
decreases risk of observer bias - researcher maintains an objective psychological distance from participants
what are the limitations of non-participant observation?
less insight - observer may misunderstand or misinterpret behaviour because they are separate from group
what are order effects?
● order of conditions affecting participants behaviour
● e.g. performance in second condition better due to participants knowing what to do
performance might be worse in second condition as they are tired
what is ecological validity?
extent to which the findings can be generalised to real-life setting
what are demand characteristics?
● participants change behaviour as a result of being in experimental situation
● might deliberately under preform / act in a way they think is expected and over preform
● behaviour no longer natural and acts as an extraneous variable
