Research methods- Observations Flashcards
Covert observation
Studying participants without their knowledge so there will be no change in behaviour.
Covert AO3
P- No participant reactivity
E- No change in behaviour as not aware they are bring studied
E- Participants show more natural behaviour so increase validity.
P- Ethical issues
E- Have not been told they were being observed so have been deceived and were unable to give consent.
E-Participants have to be fully informed about nature of study/ not lied too.
Overt Observation
Participants are aware they are being studied.
Overt AO3
P- Fewer ethical issues
E- Consent is given before participants are studied
E- Have right to withdraw if they wish too.
P- Participant reactivity (demand characteristics)
E- Knowledge of being studied could influence behaviours
E- Reduces internal validity
Participant observation
Where the researcher experiences the experiment from the perspective of a participant
Participant AO3
P- Provides in-depth insight
E- Experience gives increased knowledge of lives of people being studied
E- May increase findings validity
P-Loss of objectivity
E- May identify too strongly with individuals, line begins to blur
E-Reduce validity
Non-Participant observation
Where the research is not involved within the experiment.
Non-Participant AO3
P- Increased objectivity
E- Researcher maintains an objective distance so less chance of bias
E- May increase the internal validity of the findings
P- Lack of depth (loss of insight)
E- Researcher may be too far removed from those they are studying
E- May reduce the external validity of the findings
Natural observation
Where behaviour is observed in naturally and within its environment
Natural observation AO3
P- Praised for high external validity
E- Behaviour is observed within the environment that it would normally occur
E- Can generalise the results over similar everyday situations
P- Difficult to replicate
E- Hard to do again as occurs in real life environment where there is a lack of control over the situation and extraneous variables
E-Reliability of results is hard to check
Controlled observation
Where some manipulation or control of variables occurs including the control of CVs/EVs
Controlled observation AO3
P- Easy to replicate
E- More easily repeated due to standardised procedures
E- Findings can be checked to see if they occur again
P- Low external validity
E- Behaviour may be contrived as a result of the setting
E- Findings cannot be applied to everyday experiences
Structured observation
Where there is a list of predetermined questions asked in a fixed order
Structured observation AO3
P- Makes recording of data easier and more systematic
E- Likely to produce quantitative data which makes it easier to analyse/ compare
E- Smaller risk of observer bias
P- Results aren’t in-depth/ detailed
E- Some behaviours the researcher records may not be relevant
E- Limits richness of data collected
Unstructured observation
Where there are no set questions, a general topic is discussed but the interaction is free flowing and interviewee is encouraged to elaborate
Unstructured observation AO3
P- Greater flexibility
E- Points can be followed up when they arise
E- More likely to gain insight into interviewees worldview and collected unexpected information
P-Observer bias
E- Objective behavioural categories that feature in structured observations are not present here
E- May only record interesting behaviours, may lack importance
