pilot studies + observations Flashcards
what is a pilot study?
- small scale version of an investigation that takes place before the real investigation
- aim is to check that procedures, materials, measuring scales work
- allows researchers to make changes or modifications
what problems could be identified using a pilot study?
- participants misunderstanding the instructions
- whether timings are adequate
- misleading questions
- poorly defined behaviours categories in observational research
advantages of pilot studies
- can provide information of whether study will generate useful information and be worth the time and money
- indicate how long procedure will take and how many participants needed
- give the investigators practice carrying out research
- can save time and money in long run, problems can be solved
increase the internal validity, make findings more reliable
what is a naturalistic observation
- watching and recording behaviour in the setting within which it would normally occur
- have high ecological validity, findings can be generalised
- may be extraneous variables reducing internal validity
- lack of control makes replication difficult
what is a controlled observation?
- watching and recording behaviour in a controlled setting and involves control of extraneous variables
- lack ecological validity , conducted in artificial environment
- extraneous variables less of a problem, replication possible
what is a covert observation?
- participants behaviour is observed and recorded without their knowledge or consent, undercover observer
- removes problem of demand characteristics
- unethical as cant get informed consent
what is an overt observation?
- behaviour is watched and recorded without their their knowledge and consent
- ethical as participants are aware they are being observed and so informed consent is given
- increases the likelihood of demand characteristics which reduce the internal validity
what is a participant observation?
- researcher becomes a member of the group whose behaviour he/she is watching and recording
- lead to greater insight, increasing internal validity
- lead to loss of objectivity because researcher will identify too strongly with those they are observing
what is a non-participant observation?
- researcher remains outside of the group
- don’t lead to a loss of objectivity because researcher doesn’t identify too strongly with who they are observing
- result in a loss of insight, reduces internal validity
what is event sampling
- look for specific behaviours and notes them down each time they occur, observes continuously without time breaks, e.g. continuously for an hour
- strength = record infreuqent behaviour
- weakness = complex behaviour is often oversimplified using this method
what is time sampling?
- where observer records behaviour at prescribed intervals during a set time period
- at the specified time intervals , the observer will observe one or more categories from the behavioural checklist
- strength = type of observations is more structured and systematic
- weakness = researcher may miss important details outside of the time-scale
what are behavioural categories?
- first necessary to break the target behaviour into a set of behavioural categories
- target break down into observational categories
what is inter-observer reliability?
- to make data recording more objective and unbiased, observations should be carried out by at least two researchers
- that pairs of observers are consistent in their judgements
what is self-report technique?
any method in which a person is asked to state or explain their own feelings, opinions, behaviours related to a given topic
questionnaires - open questions
- open questions = doesn’t have fixed range of answers, produces qualitative data
- strength: rich in depth and gives us insight into why behaviours occur
- weakness: difficult to analyse and compare participant responses, reduces internal validity
questionnaires - closed questions
- offers a fixed number of responses, produce quantitative data
- strength: easy to analyse and compare
- weakness:
what are behavioural categories?
the breaking of target behaviour into a set of behavioural categories. The target behaviour must be observable and should include all of the ways the target behaviour can occur in their behaviour checklist
what is inter-observer reliability?
to make data recording more objective and unbiased, observations should be carried out by at least two researcher. it is vital, that pairs of observers are consistent in their judgements and any data they record is similar. this will establish inter-observer reliability.
how to establish inter-observer reliability?
- conduct a pilot study before starting any research
- use the same observational categories, if a strong positive correlation then the researchers are reliable
- trial observations
