observational design

• Observational designs

  • Behavioural categories
  • Event sampling
  • Time sampling
• behavioural categories

  • the target behaviour to be observed should be broken up into a set of observable categories
  • similar to operationalisation
  • Strength = strengthens research
  • They promote objectivity, clarity and replicability
  • Limitation = difficult to make clear and unambiguous
  • Categories should be self-evident and not overlap (not always possible to achieve)
  • ‘Smiling’ and ‘grinning’ would be poor categories
  • Limitation = dustbin categories
  • All forms of behaviour should be in the list and not one ‘dustbin’
  • ‘Dumped’ behaviours go unrecorded
• event sampling

  • A target behaviour or event is recorded every time it occurs
  • Strength = useful for infrequent behaviours
  • The researcher will still ‘pick up’ behaviours that do not occur at regular intervals
  • Such behaviors could not easily be missed using time sampling
  • Limitation = complex behaviour oversimplified
  • If the event is too complex, important details may go unrecorded
  • This may affect the validity of the findings
• time sampling

  • observations are made at regular intervals (eg once every 15 seconds)
  • Strength = reduces the number of observations
  • Rather than recording everything that is seen (ie continuous) data is recorded at certain intervals
  • Observation is more structured and systematic
  • Limitation = may be unrepresentative
  • The researcher may miss important details outside of the timescale - may not reflect the whole of behaviour