Research Methods Flashcards
what is the first step in animal research
Initial step in animal behavior research is reconnaissance observation
what types of description of behavior are there
behavior structure, behavior consequence, relational
what is behavior structure
involves describing in terms of subject movement, posture, sounds, etc
what is behavior consequence
involves the effects on itself, other organisms, the environment, etc.
what is relational
involves the spatial relationships to other organisms or objects, where rather than what is the animal.
what is an ethogram
is a set of descriptions of the characteristic behavior patterns of a species
what are the two basic decisions when observing animal behavior
Sampling Rules: which animals to observe and when to observe them; Recording Rules: how behavior is recorded
what are the types of sampling rules
Ad libitum sampling, Focal sampling, Scan sampling, Behavioral sampling
what is Ad libitum sampling
no systematic constraints
what is Focal sampling
technique that focuses on a single individual or unit
what is scan sampling
technique in which a census of an entire group at and at regular intervals is recorded
what is behavioral sampling
technique in which the occurrence of the behavior pattern of interest is recorded. Used when behavior is unusual or rare
what are the two types of recording rules
continuous recording and time recordings
what is an Instantaneous time recording
behavior is recorded at specific time points
what is an One-zero time recording
behavior is recorded having occurred (+) or not occurred (-) in the sample interval
what are general types of behavior
ingestive, investigative, shelter-seeking, eliminative, sexual, epimeletic, et-epimeletic, allelomimetic, agonistic
what is naturalistic observation
Descriptive technique for the purpose of documenting a species/behavior as it occurs naturally; does not have to be in the wild
what is Experimental Manipulation
empirical technique for the purpose of identifying cause and effect relationships;; can happen in the lab or in the field
what are nuisance variables
is an undesirable source of variation that affects DVs
how can nuisance variables controlled
Hold constant across subjects/experimental conditions; Random assignment of subjects
what are types of observer effects
error due to bias, error of recording, hawthorn effect, error of apprehension
what is Intra-observer reliability
accuracy of observations recorded by a single researcher
what is Inter-observer reliability
accuracy of observations recorded by multiple researchers
what is External validity
lack of generalization
what is Internal validity
threats to interpretation of study
