observations

Question 1

what are observations?

Answer 1

• observational studies simply involve watching and recording people’s behaviour
• can study behaviour which it would be unethical to manipulate or which can’t be directly manipulated by the researcher

Question 2

what are the types of observations?

Answer 2

• participating
• non participant
• naturalistic
• controlled
• overt
• covert

Question 3

what are the participant observation?

Answer 3

the observer acts as part of the groups being watched eg zimbardo, joining a gang

Question 4

what is a non participant observation?

Answer 4

the observer does not become part of the group being observed eg ofsted

Question 5

what is a naturalistic observation?

Answer 5

experimental observation
• observations can take place in a natural situation

Question 6

what is a controlled observation?

Answer 6

Environmental observation
• observations can take place where some variables are controlled and manipulated by the experimenter
• they determine the behaviours to be observed

Question 7

what is an overt observation?

Answer 7

‘Open’ observation
• p’s know they are being observed and why

Question 8

what is covert observation?

Answer 8

the observation is kept secret from the p’s the observation is undercover

Question 9

what are the 2 types of design observations?

Answer 9

1) unstructured
2) structured

Question 10

what is the unstructured design observation?

Answer 10

• writes down everything as they see it
• produces rich behaviour data

Question 11

what is structured design observation?

Answer 11

• target certain behaviour at the focus of observation
• allows researchers to quantify observations

Question 12

what is structured behaviour categories ?

Answer 12

• when a target behaviour is broken up into components that are observable and measurable
- like a behaviour checklist
- operationalist
- categories should be clear, distinct (no overlap)

Question 13

what is + and - of participant observations?

Answer 13

(+)
• less demand characteristics
• insight into behaviour
• external validity

(-)
• loss of objective
• too attached
• time consuming

Question 14

what is the + and - of non participants observation?

Answer 14

(+)
• ethical
• observer remains objective

(-)
• more demand characteristics
• lack of meaningful insight about being part of group

Question 15

what is the + and - of natural observation?

Answer 15

(+)
• less demand characteristics
• reflective of real behaviours
• external validity

(-)
• researcher bias
• may produce artificial bahviour (DC)

Question 16

what is the + and - of overt observations?

Answer 16

(+)
• ethical - gain consent

(-)
• more demand characteristics

Question 17

what is the + and - of covert observations?

Answer 17

(+)
• less demand characteristics

(-)
• unethical
• lack fully informed consent
• right to privacy

Question 18

what is + and - of unstructured observations?

Answer 18

(+)
• detailed account

(-)
• logistics
• difficult to record all data
• may miss behaviours
• time consuming to analyse

Question 19

what is the + and - of structured observations?

Answer 19

(+)
• quantitative data
- easier to recorded

(-)
• may lack depth