Observations Flashcards
how can an observation become systematic
it must be selective
2 types of observational method
naturalistic
controlled
naturalistic observation
observing participants in their normal everyday enmvrimonment
controlled observation
observations in a situation that has been produced by the experimenter specifically for observation
how do naturalistic observations avoid problems with consent and deception
takes place in a public setting where people would expect to be seen by others
how do controlled observations avoid problems with consent and deception
most of the time participants are aware they are taking part
what problems does the lack of control in naturalistic observations cause
inability to replicate - decreases validity - harder to test findings for reliability
weakness of participants knowing they are involved in an observation
higher risk of demand characteristics
impact of an artificial setting on validity
low ecological validity
reduces ability to generalise to real life settings
impact on the lack of control over a setting in a naturalistic observation
cannot produce cause and effect
confounding variables may be present
why do naturalistic observations have high ecological validity
natural setting that occurs in real life
can be generalised
positives of an artificial setting
confounding variables are reduced
cause and effect are clear
ethical issues of a naturalistic observation
invasion of privacy - especially when participants are unaware they are being observed
when can a risk of observer bias occur
when there are no guidelines on how to record the behaviour
2 types of observational design
overt and covert
overt observation
those being observed are aware of the fact
covert observation
the participants are unaware that they are being observed
which participant design has higher validity
covert - less demand characteristics
which participant design allows informed consent to be obtained
overt
which participant design is more difficult to replicate data from
covert
participant design
the observer also participates in the experiment being observed
non-participant design
the observer doesn’t participate in the experiment being observed
what makes the participant design have high validity
researcher is able to get an insider viewpoint
what makes the participant design have reduced reliability
the researcher may influence the other participants’ behaviour
what makes the non-participant observation more reliable
researcher doesn’t get involved
more likely to be objective with findings
reduces researcher bias
more accurate conclusions
why could a non-participant observation have high validity
easier to record data because the observer is not involved
why could a non-participant observation have reduced validity
lacks direct involvement or understanding of the phenomena - the data collected may be compromised
less accurate or authentic findings
4 ways in which data can be collected
facts
events
behaviours
continuous detailed notes
two types of sampling
event sampling
time sampling
event sampling
specific behaviours are recorded every time they occur
time sampling
the behaviour of each participant is recorded at fixed intervals
how can inter-rater reliability be improved during observations
operationalised coding systems
train observers with practice observations
correlating one observers data with those of another
