observations

• what are naturalistic observations? 


  this is when behaviour is observed in a natural experiment where everything has been left as it is normally
• what is positive about naturalistic observations? 


  they have a higher ecological validity as it occurs in a real life setting
• what is positive about naturalistic observations? 


  it has less chance of demand characteristics
• what is negative about naturalistic observations? 


  they are difficult to replicate due to the lack of control
• what is negative about naturalistic observations? 


  we cannot control for extraneous variables so we will have a lower internal validity
• what are controlled observations? 


  this is where some variables are controlled by the researcher
• what is positive about a controlled observation? 


  its easy to replicate due to high levels of control
• what is positive about a controlled observation? 


  can control for extraneous variables so it will have a higher internal validity
• what is negative about a controlled observation? 


  participants are more likely to know they are being observed as it may be conducted in a lab
• what is negative about a controlled observation? 


  lower ecological validity as the setting is artificial
• what is negative about a controlled observation? 


  higher chance of demand characteristics
• what are covert observations? 


  this is where the participants behaviour is watched and recorded without their knowledge and consent e.g. across a room or from a balcony
• what is positive about a covert observation?


  there is less chance of demand characteristics
• what is negative about a covert observation?


  its less ethical as full informed consent can't be given
• what are overt observations? 


  this is where the participants behaviour is watched and recorded with their knowledge and consent
• what is positive about an overt observation? 


  this is more ethical as informed consent can be gained
• what is negative about an overt observation? 


  there is a higher chance of demand characteristics.
• what does it mean by a participant observation? 


  the researcher becomes a member of the groups whose behaviour he/she is watching
• what is positive about a participant observation?

  the researcher can get an in-depth insight into the behaviour being studied
• what is negative about a participant observation? 


  the data collected could be subjective, influenced by the group (bias)
• what does it mean by a non-participant observation?


  the researcher remains outside the group whose behaviour he/she is watching
• what is positive about a non-participant observation?

  the data collected will be more subjective
• what is negative about a non-participant observation? 


  less in-depth data collected, researcher remains separate from the participant
• what is event sampling? 


  this is where we give categories to any observer so they are distinct from each other
• what is positive about event sampling? 


  this is useful when a target behaviour is infrequent
• what is negative about event sampling? 


  if there is too much happening at once, some key behaviours may get missed.
• what is time sampling? 


  this is a specified amount of time you are watching and record on a tally chart e.g. watch 2 minutes, don't watch 5 minutes, repeat.
• what is positive about time sampling?


  this may be easier to manage if there is a lot going on
• what is negative about time sampling? 


  some key behaviours may get missed, if something significant happens when the researcher is not observing