RM: Observations Flashcards
What is an observation?
-a researcher observing the behaviour of a sample and looking for patterns
-cannot draw cause and effect relationships
What are the 4 main features of an observation?
-settings
-data
-ppts
-observers
What is participant reactivity/Hawthorne effect?
-where individuals change an aspect of their behaviour due to knowing they are being observed
What is inter-rater reliability?
-2+ observers comparing their results of an observation- should be above 0.8
-degree of agreement among observers
What are naturalistic observations?
-observations of behaviour in its natural setting
-researcher does not change behaviour of those observed
Strengths of naturalistic observations?
-high ecological validity (natural setting)
-ppts less likely to have demand characteristics
Limitations of naturalistic observations?
-little control over EVs
-replication is often not possible (cannot check finding reliability)
What are controlled observations?
-take place in controlled settings
-observers are unseen
Strengths of controlled observations?
-less risk of EVs affecting behaviour (controlled environment)
Limitations of controlled observations?
-artificial setting (lower ecological validity)
What are structured observations?
-researcher creates a standardised behavioral checklist made of behavioral categories before observation to code behaviour
-behaviour can be sampled using time/event sampling
Strengths of structured observations?
-behavioral checklist allows (objective) quantitative/quantifiable data
-more than one observer can increase reliability
Limitations of structured observations?
-pre-existing categories can be restrictive
-don’t explain why the behaviour happens
What are unstructured obervations?
-observers write down all behaviours they can see in a qualitative form over a period of time
-no behavioral checklist
Strengths of unstructured observations?
-give in-depth qualitative data which can explain why behaviour happens
-researchers are not limited by prior expectations
Limitations of unstructured observations?
-observer can get drawn to unrepresentative eye-catching behavior- miss things
-more subjective and less comparable/replicable
What are overt observations?
-ppts are aware their behaviour is being studied
-obvious observer
Strengths of overt observations?
-more ethical (ppts know they are being studied)
Limitations of overt observations?
-ppts know they are being studied, so ppt reactivity
What are covert observations?
-ppts are unaware they are being studied
Strengths of covert observations?
-ppts do not know they are being studied, more natural behaviour
-higher validity
Limitations of covert observations?
-not ethical (deception)
-lacks informed consent
What are participant observations?
-researcher joins ppt group
-unknown to be observer by other ppts
Strengths of participant observations?
-being part of the group means deeper understanding of group’s behaviour
What are non-participant observations?
-observer is separate from the ppt group being observed
Limitations of participant observations?
-presence of researcher might influence behaviour
-researcher may lose objectivity
Strengths of non-participant observations?
-more likely to be objective
Limitations of non-participant observations?
-reason for behaviour is unknown/harder to understand
What is a behavioral checklist?
-list of categories used to code the behaviour
Criteria for a behavioral checklist?
-should be observable
-no need for inferences
-cover all possible behaviours
-be mutually exclusive/not overlap
What is a pilot study?
-small scale study carried out before the actual research
-allows researchers to test checklist/observation schedule
What is event sampling?
-counting each time a particular behaviour is observed
Strengths of event sampling?
-useful if target behaviour happens infrequently
-may pick up behaviour missed by time sampling
Limitations of event sampling?
-if situation is busy, researcher might not record all events of target behaviour
What is time sampling?
-recording behaviour at specific timed intervals
Strengths of time sampling?
-observer has time to record what they have seen
Limitations of time sampling?
-some behaviours will be missed outside the intervals
-unrepresentative results
