observational design

• unstructured

  researcher may want to write down everything they see
• structured 


  researcher uses a pre-determined list of behaviours and sampling methods
• behavioural categories 


  when a target behaviour is broken up into components that are observable and measurable
• event sampling 


  target behaviour or event is first established then the researcher records this event every time it occurs
• time sampling 


  a target individual or group is first established then the researcher records their behaviour in a fixed time frame
• structured evaluation 


  strength

  • make the recording of data easier and more systematic
  • produced numerical data- comparing is more straightforward

  weakness

  • may only record behaviours that catch the eye
• unstructured evaluation

  strength:

  • more in detail data collected

  weakness:

  • qualitative data- more difficult to record and analyse
• behavioural categories (evaluation)

  • must be observable, measurable and self-evident
  • must be obvious
• time sampling (evaluation)

  strength:

  • effective in reducing the number of observations

  weakness:

  • may be unrepresentative
• event sampling (evaluation)


  strength:

  • useful when the target behaviour or event happens quite frequently

  weakness:

  • if the specified event is too complex, the observer may overlook important details