observations

• what are the different types of observations?

  Controlled vs naturalistic

  Covert vs overt

  Direct vs indirect
• what are the different types of observation design?

  Event sampling vs time sampling

  Structured vs unstructured

  behavioural checklist
• what is a naturalistic observation?

  Behaviour is studied in a natural situation where everything has been left as it normally is
• what are the advantages of naturalistic observations?

  High ecological validity because the observation has taken place in a natural setting for the participants so the behaviour is more likely to be naturally occurring

  This increases the generalisability of the findings from naturalistic observations
• what are the weaknesses of naturalistic observations?

  Less less control given that a naturalistic observation takes place in a setting that is natural for the participants it is less likely there’ll be numerous extra extraneous/confounding variables because the researcher does not have control over the environment

  This will reduce the internal of naturalistic observations
• what are controlled observations?

  Where some variables are controlled by the researchers reducing the naturalness of the behaviour being studied

  Participants are likely to know that they have been studied and the study may be conducted in a laboratory
• what are the strengths of controlled observations?

  High control because a controlled environment allows the researcher to reduce the number of extraneous variables

  It is also likely that the research will use a standardised procedure

  These two features would increase the internal validity and reliability of the findings
• what are the weaknesses of controlled observations?

  Low ecological validity because likely that controlled observations take place in laboratories. These places are likely to be unfamiliar to the participants and will not promote behaviour that would occur naturally.

  This reduces the of findings from this type of observation
• what is a covert observation?

  Where participants do not know that they are being observed
• what are the strengths of covert observations?

  Fewer extraneous variables because participants are not aware that they are being studied so they’ll be displaying natural behaviour.

  This means I’ll be few extra extraneous variables which will increase the validity of the findings.

  This means that the validity of increased
• what are the strengths of a cover observation?

  Fewer extraneous variables because participants are not aware they are being studied so they’ll be displaying natural behaviour. This means that there will be a few extra variables which have increased the validity of finding.

  Unethical participants are not aware they are taking part in research they wouldn’t have consented and all being deceased. This breach is guidelines for research with human participants.
• what are overt observations?

  When the participants know they are being observed
• what are the strengths of overt observations?

  ethical given that participants know that they are being watched by researchers it is right that they have given consent even if it is not informed and that there is less deception

  This means that ethical guidelines for research with human participants will have been upheld
• what are weaknesses of overt observations?

  Extraneous variables because participants may by differently because they know that they are being watched. This could be due to factors with researchers such as social desirability bias or demand characteristics.
• what are participant observations?

  When the observer also in with the activity/ discussion of the people that they are observing
• what are the strengths of participant observations?

  It is a practical method if the observers join in with the activity that they are engaging and it makes for them to actually hear what is being said, and see what is happening. This will also have the benefit of increasing the internal validity of the findings.
• what areThe weaknesses of participant Observations?

  Practical problems because the researcher is joining in with the activity that the participants are engaged it means that it is trickier for them to record the behaviour. It is likely that they will need to remember what they see here and this sometime later once the activity has ended.

  this could lead to inaccurate data to being collected, which would reduce the internal validity and reliability of the findings
• What is a non-participant observation?

  A non-participant observation is a research method where the observer does not actively participate in the group or situation being observed, but rather observes from a distance.
• what are the strengths of non-participant observations?

  Objective because the researcher is effectively an outsider looking in on the participant so it’s easier for them to remain impartial and see the behaviour within a wider context. Given the objectivity as a feature of science and psychology is aside this is a desirable attribute to non-participant observations.
• what are the weaknesses of non-participant observations?

  Practical problems because the research is likely to be sat some distance away from participants it is possible that they may not be accurately here what everyone was saying.

  Also, if participants have their back research as it would mean the research would miss some behaviours, e.g. facial expressions. These misunderstandings would reduce the internal validity of the findings
• what are direct observations?

  Where the researcher conduct their own observation and collects their own data
• what are the strengths of direct observations?

  Gathers primary data because the research themselves have specifically collected the data to fit the aim of the study. This means the research is likely to have greater confidence that they are measuring what they want to measure which would increase the internal validity of the findings.
• what are the weaknesses of direct observations?

  Time-consuming, given that the reception needs to collect their own data this takes more time when compared to the alternative indirect observation which doesn’t require a research to collect their own data

  This means that the researcher will be impacted by negative economic implications
• what is an indirect observation?

  Where the researcher or camera analyses the behaviour recorded by someone else
• what are the strengths of indirect observations?

  More economical because the researcher does not collect their own data they make use of existing recordings of behaviour which takes less time and intern cost less money to do in comparison to direct observation. Therefore, there are positive economic implications from doing an indirect observation.
• what are the weaknesses of indirect observations?

  It gathers secondary data which means that the research has had no control over what is recorded or how. It is likely that the researcher will need to make some compromises in may mean they are not able to ensure they are answering the research question they originally intended.
• what is event sampling?

  Counting the number of times a certain behaviour or event occurs in a target individual/individuals
• what are the strengths of event sampling ?

  It increases the internal validity because every relevant behaviour is recorded. This means that the data collected and subsequent data analysis will be an accurate representation of the behaviour scene.
• what are the weaknesses of events sampling?

  Practical issues if many behaviours happen in a quick succession it could be tricky for a researcher to accurately record all behaviour. Intern it reduce the of validity of findings from the sampling method because the data is incomplete.
• what is time sampling?

  Time sampling is a research method that involves observing and recording behavior at specific time intervals.
• what are the strengths of time sampling?

  It is a practical method because the interval between data collection for it can be used to accurately record the data. This would increase the internal validity of the findings obtained when a time sampling method is used.
• what are the weaknesses of time sampling?

  lacks validity because some behaviours may occurring between data collection and many different short behaviours occur between intervals. This would mean that the data collected would not be a fair accurate representation of the behaviour of the participants whcihc would reduce the internal validity of the conclusions made using the time sampling method.