Observational studies

• What does a researcher do in an observational study?

  Watches or listens to participants' behavior
• What is a key feature of a non-participant observation?

  The observer does not interact
• How does a participant observation differ from a non-participant observation?

  The observer interacts with the group
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of non-participant observation?

  Strengths:

  • Collects qualitative and quantitative data from a distance
  • Primary source of data
  • Researcher able to remain objective

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • May misinterpret behavior
  • Unable to ask for clarification
  • Data can be difficult to analyze
  • Participants may show demand characteristics/social desirability if overt
• What does coding or categorizing observed behaviors help with?

  Analyzing large amounts of data
• What can participants in an overt observation still show?

  Demand characteristics or social desirability
• Why can a researcher remain objective in a non-participant observation?

  They stay separate from the behavior
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of participant observation?

  Strengths:

  • Provides rich, valid data
  • Allows insider perspective

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Challenging to carry out
  • High risk of demand characteristics and social desirability
  • Potential for researcher bias
• How does overt observation in participant studies allow researchers to be more flexible?

  They can ask questions and adjust methods
• How can being part of the group in participant observation create bias?

  Between the researcher and participants
• What is a likely characteristic of a participant observation?

  More likely to be overt
• What is social desirability bias in observations?

  Participants act to be seen favorably
• What is a benefit of using overt observation?

  Reduces the issue of consent
• What is a major ethical concern in covert observations?

  Participants cannot give consent
• What kind of behaviour do covert observations reveal?

  'Real' behaviour
• What is a key characteristic of an unstructured observation?

  Records all relevant behaviors without a system
• What is a potential problem with unstructured observations?

  May only record the most visible behaviors
• What is a key feature of structured observations?

  Use systems to organize observations
• What is the hardest part of designing an observation?

  Categorizing different behaviours
• What does a researcher need to do to conduct systematic observations?

  Break behavior into behavioral categories
• What does it mean to operationalize an action in observations?

  Break down the behavior into components
• What would a researcher create for behavioral categories in systematic observation?

  A table to tally observed behaviors
• What is the primary issue when conducting continuous unstructured observations?

  High possibility of missing information
• What are the two main techniques to create a more systematic method of observing?

  Time sampling and event sampling
• What is the procedure in time sampling?

  Record behavior in a given time frame
• What does event sampling involve?

  Counting instances of a certain behavior
• What does observations capture compared to other research methods?

  Spontaneous and unexpected behavior
• What is a potential issue in observations?

  Observer bias
• How can observer bias affect observations?

  Distorts what is observed
• How can researchers reduce the risk of observer bias?

  Observe in pairs
• What does having more than one observer increase?

  Inter-rater reliability
• What indicates increased inter-rater reliability?

  Agreement in the observed behaviour
• What type of data source is non-participant observation considered?

  Primary data source