Observations Flashcards
What is an observation?
Where a researcher observes and records participants behaviour but does not manipulate any variables
What is a naturalistic observation?
Where participants are observed in their natural environment
What are the strengths of a naturalistic observation?
- Natural environment - participants not aware they are being studied, less likely to change their behaviour, reducing demand characteristics
- More ethical - no intervention where it would be unethical E.g. investigating behaviours in domestic abuse
What are the weaknesses of a naturalistic observation?
- More extraneous variables - due to natural environment, harder to control, therefore reducing validity
- If observers are identified or suspected by participants, validity is compromised
What is a controlled observation?
An observation being slightly controlled by the researcher, but with no IV. Usually conducted in laboratory setting
What are the strengths of a controlled observation?
- Data is reliable - scientific equipment can be used and researchers can be obvious
- Control over extraneous variables - increases validity
- More generalisable - compared to experiments, a much greater range of behaviours can be explored, gives useful insight into human behaviour
What are the weaknesses of a controlled observation?
- More demand characteristics - participants in an unfamiliar/ potentially artificial environment, so may change behaviour
- Lacks ecological validity - difficult to represent the reality of a complex social setting due to artificial environment
What is an overt observation?
An observation where participants know that they are being observed
What are the strengths of an overt observation?
- More ethical - participants aware they are being observed, so have given informed consent
- Can reduce demand characteristics - if observed for long periods of time, participants may forget they are being observed and act more naturally
What are the weaknesses of an overt observation?
- Reduces validity - increase of social desirability as participants are aware they are being observed, therefore may change behaviour to seem more favourable
- May increase demand characteristics - participant is aware of researcher, may change behaviour to fit with what they think researcher wants to see, reducing validity
What is a covert observation?
An observation where participants do not know they are being observed
What are the strengths of a covert observation?
- Increases validity - participants unaware they are being observed, so more likely to act naturally
- Reduces demand characteristics - participants unaware of researcher, less likely for them to try to fit researchers expectations
What are the weaknesses of a covert observation?
- Less ethical - participant unaware they are taking part, have not given informed consent, harder to follow other ethical considerations E.g. right to withdraw, debrief
- May decrease validity - if participants become aware of researcher, they may change behaviour
What is an unstructured observation?
An observation where the observer records everything they see during the observation
What are the strengths of an unstructured observation?
- Increases validity - researcher takes all behaviours into account, meaning a wide perspective/ spread is gathered, resulting in more valid conclusions
- More rich and complete data gathered - no limitation of specific categories, so any relevant behaviours can be recorded
What are the weaknesses of an unstructured observation?
- May reduce validity - harder to record as researcher has to pay attention to everything, so some behaviours may be missed
- Harder to become reliable - limited focus, if it were replicated the focus would likely be different
- More observer bias - researcher may only write down behaviours that support their own theories, reducing validity
What is a structured observation?
An observation where the researcher uses predefined coding categories for behaviour
What are the strengths of a structured observation?
- Increases validity - easier to record as there is a specific focus on certain behaviours as researcher is not distracted by others, or behaviours that may be irrelevant to research aim
- Improve replicability - easier to establish inter-rater reliability as there is a clear, planned focus on behaviour, so research could be easily used and understood in a consistent way
What are the weaknesses of a structured observation?
- Can reduce validity - as there is a clear focus, behaviours that may important can be missed due to it not being part of the planned behaviours
- Open to observer bias - researcher may interpret behaviours in a way that fits into the planned categories, therefore reducing validity as it may not reflect what actually happened
What is a participant observation?
An observation where the researcher is engaged with participants as part of the social setting
What are the strengths of a participant observation?
- Increase validity - if participant are unaware of the observer, they may act more naturally and reveal more than they would otherwise
- More valid conclusions - researcher has more detailed and accurate insights and perspectives as they are part of the social setting themselves
What are the weaknesses of a participant observation?
- Less ethical - if a participant observer needs to remain hidden, participants are not able to give informed consent
- Observer may become subjective - they may get lost in the moment they may begin to interpret behaviour at a personal level (building relationships) and it may become more opinionated rather than what is actually happening
What is a non-participant observation?
An observation where the researcher is not engaged with participants in the social setting and remains separate
