Observations Flashcards
What does observing people involve?
Involves watching and recording people’s behavior.
Usually carried out by observing people’s natural behavior in their natural environment.
What is Naturalistic observation?
Strengths?
Weaknesses?
Observing people in their natural environment.
Behaviour is not controlled- people can choose how to behave.
People behave as they would without being involved in observation.
These take place in real life, natural environments where no manipulation is made and everything has been left as it is normally.
Strengths:
Behaviour observed is likely to be natural so findings can be generalised to everyday life (ecological validity is high)
Limitations :
Lack of informed consent means this type of observation raises ethical issues. However it is ethically acceptable to observe people without their knowledge as long as they are in a public place.
People sometimes do know that they are being observed so they might not act naturally. Also as it’s in a natural environment you can’t control all the variables.
What is Controlled observation?
Strengths?
Weaknesses?
Where some variables are controlled and manipulated by the experimenter reducing the ‘naturalness’ of the behaviour being studied.
These take place in an artificial laboratory setting. The researcher manipulates some aspect of the environment
Strengths:
High level of control. The behaviour being observed can be isolated and the environment can be manipulated to make measurement of this behaviour easier and more objective.
Limitations :
The environment is artificial so behaviour observed may be unnatural and not reflect how people behave in real life (ecological validity is low)
What can Observations be?
Non- participants
or
Participants
and
Covert
or
Overt
and
Structured
or
Un-structured
and
Controlled
or
Naturalistic
What is a non- participant Observation?
Strengths?
Weaknesses?
The researcher doesn’t become actively involved in the behaviour being studied and observed from a distance.
Strengths:
Lack of direct involvement ensures greater objectivity when interpreting behaviour.
Limitations:
Data lacks the richness provided participant observation, such as feeling and motivations of participants.
What is Participants observation
Strengths?
Limitations?
The researcher becomes part of the group or situation being observed.
Strengths :
Provides greater insights into behaviour that may not be gained by an ‘outsider’
Limitations :
Objectivity of observation is affected by becoming part of the group being observed. The observer is likely to form their own opinion about the participants
which could affect their interpretation of their behaviour.
What is a Covert observation?
Strengths?
Limitations?
Covert- When the participants are not aware they are being observed. Example: two way mirror, disguising as a member of a group.
Strengths:
Ecological validity is high because participants do not know they are being studied so completely natural behaviour will be observed.
Limitations:
Lack of informed consent means this type of observation raises ethical issues. However, it is ethically acceptable to observe people without their knowledge as long as they are in a public place.
Ecological validity is high because participants do not know they are being studied so completely natural behaviour will be observed.
What is a Overt observation?
Strengths?
Limitations?
Overt- When participants are aware that they are being observed.
Limitations:
Ecological validity is low because participants do not know they are being studied so completely natural behaviour will be observed.
Strengths:
Has informed consent. Not looked as ethically wrong.
However, it is ethically acceptable to observe people without their knowledge as long as they are in a public place.
Structured observation
Advantages?
Disadvantages?
This involves pre-determined categories of behaviour and systematic sampling.
Time sampling
Event sampling
Point sampling
Advantages:
You can categorise behaviour and make comparisons between different participants and situations.
Disadvantages:
You can risk missing something important if you are so focused on categorising behaviour. This is because some behaviour could be important but not fit into any categories you have.
Ways of recording data :
Videos/ photographs
scoring / rating system
Criteria checklist
Keeping a tally
Making “on the spot” notes
Unstructured observation
Advantages?
Disadvantages?
This is where there is no checklist for the researcher so every behaviour seen is written down in as much detail as possible. Unstructured observations are when the observer records everything that happens. Observer may use a diary method to record events, feelings or moods, perhaps a video recording.
Advantages:
You can get a lot of data and potentially find things out that you perhaps never thought of observing.
Disadvantages:
You could get too much information and get overwhelmed with what to do with the data. You could be biassed when you are analysing the data.
what is Coding frame?
When psychologists use qualitative data which is in words rather than numbers.
What is Event sampling?
One way of recording data is to record on the checklist of the behavioural categories the number of times a particular behaviour occurs. The chronological order of events is not recorded, there is just a frequency count for each behaviour.
What is Time sampling?
If the order of events is important in the observation then the researcher can occur when each behaviour occurs. For example: observation can be taken at predetermined intervals of 30 seconds which are then recorded chronologically.
