observations Flashcards
controlled experiment
when the researcher has some measure of control over the environment
example is Bobo Doll Experiment
advantages of controlled experiment
- control over extraneous variables
- inter-observer reliability
- easy to replicate
disadvantages of controlled experiment
- cannot be applied to real-life settings
- may be subjective towards what the researcher want to see
naturalistic observation
studying behaviour in a natural setting where everything has been left as it is normally
advantages of naturalistic observation
- high external ecological validity
- natural environment - generalised to everyday life
- few demand characteristics
disadvantages of naturalistic observation
- replication difficult - lack of control
- uncontrolled extraneous variables
covert observation
the participants are not aware that they are being observed
advantages of covert observation
- few demand characteristics
disadvantages of covert observation
- ethical issues as they do not know they are being observed
overt observation
the participants are aware that they are being observed
advantages of overt observation
- less ethical issues as they are not being deceived
disadvantages of overt observation
- there maybe demand characteristics as they know they are being observed
participant observation
the observer acts as part of the group being watched
advantages of participant observation
- experience situation
- insight
- increased validity
disadvantages of participant observation
- lose objectivity
- difficulty in recording observations
- ethical issues
non-participant observation
the experimenter does not become part of the group being observed
advantages of non-participant observation
- more ethical
- more objective
disadvantages of non-participant observation
- less insight
- not experiencing the same things
- lower in validity
structured observation
the researcher determines precisely what behaviours are to be observed and uses a standardised checklist to record the frequency with which they are observed within a specific time frame
advantages of structured observation
- it is easier to gather relevant data because you know what you are looking for
disadvantages of structured observation
- interesting behaviours could go unrecorded because they weren’t pre-defined as important
unstructured observation
the observer recalls all relevant behaviour but has no system
advantages of unstructured observation
- can record more interesting behaviours
disadvantages of unstructured observation
- it is harder to gather relevant data because you don’t know what you’re looking for
summary of observations
- must be adequate data sampling to se sure that a representative sample of participants behaviour is seen
- language must be accurate and appropriate and have valid operationalised definitions
- researcher bias must be avoided
