Observations Flashcards
observation
starting point for any research in psychology and can be used as methods on their own or a way to gather data when conducting an experiment
using observational method
psychologists observe behavior in real life situations or in a lab without manipulating an independent variable. Useful when it is not possible to manipulate variables due to ethical or practical problems
naturalistic observation
occur in a natural setting and focus on people’s naturally occurring behavior
controlled observation
occur in a lab which allows the researcher more control over the environment
participant observation
observer joins in with the group of people being observed
non participant
observer remains external to those being observed
overt observation
participants are made aware that research is taking place
covert observation
participants are unaware the research is taking place
unstructured observation
conducted with the researcher writing everything down he or she observes and analyzing it later by looking for patterns in the data that has been recorded
structured observation
observer uses a coding frame and behavioral categories in order to count the number of times specific behaviors occur
strength of controlled observations
high levels of reliability
weakness of controlled observations
likely to have lower ecological validity
strength of naturalistic observations
high in ecological validity
weakness of naturalistic observation
low levels of internal validity
strength of participant observation
allows observer to gather more detailed accounts due to flexibility
weakness of participant observation
may be potential for observer bias as it is harder to remain objective
strength of non participant observation
reduces the effect of the observer on the participants behavior
weakness of non participant observation
the observer may miss vital information
strength of covert observation
reduces the possibility for demand characteristics
weakness of covert observation
difficult to remain hidden
strength of overt observation
removes ethical issues such as invasion of privacy
weakness of overt observation
potential for demand characteristics
strength of structured observation
easy to compare and analyze data
weakness of structured observation
behaviors ma be missed if they weren’t in the list of behavioral categories
strength of unstructured observation
more valid as all behaviors are recorded
weakness of non structured observation
difficult to analyze as data tends to be qualitative
behavioral categories
operationally defined units of events used in structured observations to break a continuous stream of activity into separate recordable events. Must be done by recording actions rather than states
coding frame
system for differentiating behaviors to be recorded in an observation adding detail to the behavioral categories
inter observer reliability
observers would all need to watch the same individuals but record the participant’s behaviors separately. The results from each observer are then compared using a correlation. If the observers appear to agree and a positive correlation is established then inter observer reliability can be said to have been achieved
why would a pilot study be useful to help achieve inter observer reliability
each observer would observe separately
then compare behavioral schedules using a correlation
positive correlation is a high agreement so high inter observer reliability
negative correlation is a low agreement so low inter observer reliability
for any categories where they have different tallies they can discuss what constitutes that behavior
new coding frame used i full scale observation
time sampling
researcher observes behavior at specific times during an event
event sampling
researcher observes continuously
time -event sampling
observing at prescribed intervals like every 5 minutes for 20 seconds
strength of time sampling
gives an indication into the order in which events occur
weakness of time sampling
potential to miss behaviors that occur outside of the time when the observation takes place
strength of event sampling
allows all behaviors to be recorded which increases validity
weakness of event sampling
gives no indication into the order that events took place
strength of time event sampling
can give an indication of the order in which events happen
weakness of time event sampling
observer may miss behaviors as observation period is not continuous
strength of observation method
can be used when other methods would be impractical or unethical
weakness of observation method
harder to control extraneous variables in observations than in experiments so can’t find a cause and effect
