Obsever Design Flashcards
What is event sampiling
Counting the number of times a particular behaviour is carried out by the target group or individual ur observing
What is time sampiling
Recording behaviours within a timeframe that is pre-established before the observational study
Strengths of time sampiling
Reduces the number of observations that has to be identified so less time consuming
Limitations of time sampiling
Small amount of data is collected within a timeframe so it’s unrepresentative of the whole observation
Strengths of event sampling
Good for identifying infrequent behaviours that is likely to be missed
Limitations of event sampiling
Counting errors if behaviour is frequent
Important details of behaviour may be overlooked
Difficult to judge
What is an unstructured observation
Continuous recordings where the researcher writes down everything they see during an observation
Strengths if unstructured observation
More richness and depth of detail
Limitations of unstructured observation
Produces qualitative data which is difficult to analyse and record
Observer bias
What is a structured observation
Researcher quantifies what they’re observing using predetermined list of behaviours and sampling methods
Strengths of structured observation
Quantitive data is easier to analyse and compare with other data
Limitations of a structured observation
Not much depth and detail
What is inter observer reliability
It is a way of dealing with observer bias
Observers compare and discuss data and agree on an interpretation of the data
What is behavioural categories
Behaviour is broken up into more precise components such as stress or aggression- must be clearly operationalised
