Oservational techniques Flashcards
naturalistic
watching + recording behaviour in a natural setting, not changed
reseracher doesn’t interfere + just observes behaviour as it happens normally
controlled
behaviour observed under strict conditions e.g lab
EV controlled
control of some variables
artificial environment
observational techniques
way of seeing + listening people without asking them
pro observational techs
- can capture unexpected behaviour
con observational techs
- cant determine cause and effect as variables not observed + not manipulated
- observer bias- using more than 1 observer will reduce this- less objective- less accurate
naturalistic pro
- higher level of ecological validity- behaviour natural as environment is original + realistic- therefore behaviour more representative of everyday activities- generalised to everyday life- reflect real behaviour- high external validity
naturalistic con
- issues w replication + reliability
- lack of control over EV that may influence behavhiour being observed
controlled pro
- EV controlled
- easily replicated- high reliability- as variables highly controlled
controlled con
- low external validity- artifical environment as variables manipulated- high level of control is unnatural- ppts behaviour not natural- cant be generalised- low ecological validity
covert
ppts not aware being studied e.g. two way mirror.
behaviour watched without their consent
undisclosed, without their knowledge
observer not visible and hidden
overt
ppts aware being studied
informed consent given before hand.
observer clearly visible not hidden
covert pro
- high internal validity- ppts bheaviour natural- - no demand characteristics changing behaviour
- less investigator effects- hidden so less direct or indirect behaviour that will impact ppts performance- less demand characterisitcs- wont try to guess aims of study as unaware being observed- natural behaviour- representative - generalisable
covert con
- ethical issues- lack of informed consent- not aware being studied
overt pro
- more ethical- aware being studied- so can gain informed consent- allows right to withdraw- reputation of psych protected
overt con
- investigator effects- bias as they influence ppts- ppts suffer demand characteristics- no natural behaviour- reduces internal validity
ppt observations
person conducting study also takes part in activity
non-ppt observations
researcher doesnt take part in study. remains separate from study
ppt pro
- in depth data gathered as close to ppts- increases internal validity of findings
ppt con
- investigator effects and demand characterisics more likely- influence ppts behaviour- natural behaviour not observed- reduces internal validity-
non ppt pro
- less investigator effects- investigator cant influence ppts behaviour- bhevaiour more representative and natural
non ppt con
- my miss important info- unique insights overlooked- too removed from ppts- decreases validity
structured observations
behaviour recorded using behavioural categories- pre determined list of behaviours + sampling methods- behavioural category is specific behaviours that should be examined
unstructured observations
observer records as much detail as possible, everything they see, rich + detailed
structued pro
- higher levels of inter rater reliability
- qauntitve data easier to analyse and compare
structured con
- lacks internal validity- resreacher may miss behaviour that’s important- findings may not show full picture- lack details- what had to be measured wasn’t measured
unstructured pro
- rich detailed data obtained- behavipur recorded in great detail- good understanding of human behaviour- increases internal valifty
unstructured con
- observer bias- lack of objective behavioir categories- observer may only record behaviour subjective + valuable to them- not valid representation- problem w inter observer reliability- lack of consistency
- qualitative more difficult to analyse and compare
2 choice of observation methods for structured- event sampling
observer records number of time target behaviour occurs, records every time it occurs
time sampling
researcher records behaviour at regular intervals e.g. every 30 secs. fixed time frame
pro event sampling
all behaviour taken into account- used when target behaviour infrequent
con event sampling
- behaviours could be missed if theres too much happening at same time
pro time sampling
better use of time as fewer observations made
con time sampling
may be unreprentative of whole behaviour as some could be missed that’s important outside time frames
how can an observation be done?
- through cctv, recording for later analysis by ticking box when relevant behaviour shown through behavioural categories
- watch behaviour then tick box when each behaviour is shown
- resreach can be overt or cover aware and unware
