observations Flashcards
what are covert observations
participants aren’t aware they are being observed
what are obvert observations
participants are aware of being observed
evaluate covert observations
- have fewer demand characteristics
- ethical issues are involved
evaluate obvert observations
- more ethical
- people can change behavior
what are participant variable
observer takes part in the activity being observed
what are non participant variables
observer does not take part in the activity being observed, watching from a distance
evaluate participant observations
- closer proximity to participants
- can gather rich in data
- people are more likely to change their behavior
evaluate non participant observations
- behaviors are likely to be natural
- could be a result in behaviors being missed
what are controlled observations
observations that take part in a lab-style setting
what are natural observations
observations taken place in an unaltered setting in which the observer does not interfere in any way
evaluate controlled variables
- highly controlled, replicability is possible
- low in ecological validity
evaluate naturalist observations
- has naturally high ecological validity
- has no ability to replicate studies
why are observations designed
observers design categories of behavior to operationalize what is being observed
observers can gather data from different observations in 2 ways
- time sampling
- event sampling
what is time sampling
where an observer records behavior at prescribed intervals
what is event sampling
where an observer records the number of times that targets behavior occurs
evaluate time sampling
- allows for better use of time since fewer observations are made
- not every behavior is counted if it not throughout the time frame
evaluate event sampling
- every behavior of interest to the researcher is counted
- some behaviors may not be coded, due to too much happening at once
