Observations

• What is participant observation?

  The observer acts as part of the group
• What are the strengths of participant observation?

  • People feel more comfortable so behaviour will be real - increases ecological validity
  • Allows for greater detail and understanding of the behaviours being observed
• What are the weaknesses of participant observation?

  • May miss out on all the behaviour
  • Presence of a researcher may influence behaviour
  • May be difficult for research to record information discreetly
• What is non-participant observation?

  Observer watches from a distance and is not involved
• What are the strengths of non-participant observation?

  • Able to observe everyone
  • Cannot influence their behaviour - increases ecological validity
• What are the weaknesses of non-participant observation?

  • May be unable to interpret behaviour
  • Raises ethical issues without gaining consent
• What is a naturalistic observation?

  Takes place in a natural situation, often used when manipulating the environment could be unethical
• What are the strengths of naturalistic observation?

  • Provides accurate data
  • High ecological validity as it is real behaviour
• What are the weaknesses of naturalistic observation?

  • Irregular behaviour may occur
  • Extraneous variables will be present
  • Difficult to ensure the validity and consistency of the measurements
• What is a controlled observation?

  Some variables are controlled and manipulated by the researcher
• What are the strengths of a controlled observation?

  • Extraneous variables can be controlled for
  • A wide range of behaviours and actions can be recorded
• What are the weaknesses of a controlled observation?

  • Environment is artificial
  • Lacks mundane realism
  • Lacks ecological validity
• What is structured observation?

  Determines the behaviours needing to be observed and determines the sampling used - idea of using a check list
• What are the strengths of a structured observation?

  • Easy to use coding schemes
  • Easy to establish inter-rater reliability
  • Is replicable
• What are the weaknesses of structured observation?

  • May miss out on other behaviours that are not pre-determined
  • Behavioural categories are open to interpretation
• What is an unstructured observation?

  Observer records everything that happens
• What are the strengths of an unstructured observation?

  Improves replicability
• What are the weaknesses of an unstructured observation?

  • More difficult to record so you may miss out on some behaviours
  • Lack of validity and reliability
• What is an overt observation?

  Participants know they are being observed
• What are the strengths of an overt observation?

  Ethical due to informed consent - means they have agreed to take part
• What are the weaknesses of an overt observation?

  People may change their behaviour (demand characteristics) - affects ecological validity
• What is a covert observation?

  Participants do not know they are being observed
• What are the strengths of covert observations?

  More realistic as they are not being influenced
• What are the weaknesses of a covert observation?

  Ethical issues as participants cannot consent
• What is time sampling?

  Observations that are made at a regular time - however you may miss things
• What are the 3 types of time sampling?

  • Instantaneous scan sampling - recorded at start of each interval
  • Predominant activity sampling - records most frequent behaviour
  • One-zero sampling - uses a coding frame
• What is a coding frame?

  Pre-determined behavioural categories that are defined clearly so they can be replicated
• What are the benefits of a coding frame?

  • Makes recording behavioural categories easier
  • Allows information to be coded
• What is event sampling?

  A technique used to record certain, pre-established behaviours each time they occur. They are usually tallied each time they occur
• What is inter-rater reliability?

  • Agree beforehand on what you observe
  • Carry out a pilot study to ensure it works
  • Each observer observes the same things independently
  • At the end of the observation, results are compared
  • The greater level of similarity, the greater the inter-rater reliability
  • This means the coding frame is consistent as it works the same way and produces the same results when used by different people