Research Methods

• Observation: A non-experimental technique, the researcher watches and records the spontaneous and natural behaviour of the participants without manipulating levels of the IV
• Controlled observation: Watching and recording behaviour in a controlled environment, such as a lab.
• Advantages of controlled observations:

  • High internal validity: extraneous variables are less likely to be responsible for observed behaviour
  • Results are reliable due to same standardised procedures
• Disadvantage of controlled observations:

  • Low external validity: behaviour is studied in an artificial setting so cannot be applied to real life setting
• Naturalistic observation: Watching and recording behaviour in the setting in which it would normally occur
• Advantages of naturalistic observations:

  • High realism: participants are likely to show naturalistic behaviour
  • HIgh external validity: behaviour is more likely to be generalisable to other situations
• Disadvantages of naturalistic observations:

  • Reduced internal validity: uncontrolled extraneous variables may be responsible for the behaviour observed
  • Unreliable: lack of control over research situation makes replication difficult
• Overt observation: Participants' behaviour is watched and recorded with their knowledge and consent
• Advantage of overt observations:

  • Ethical: principle of informed consent means participants should agree to take part in the research and should know what they are signing up for
• Disadvantages of overt observations:

  • Demand characteristics: may try to show behaviour that they think the researcher wants to see
  • Social desirability bias
• Covert observation: Participants' behaviour is watched and recorded without their knowledge and consent
• Advantage of overt observations:

  • High internal validity: More likely to show naturalistic behaviour free from demand characteristics or social desirability bias
• Disadvantage of covert observations:

  • Unethical: Participants can't give informed consent
• Participant observation: Researcher joins the group being observed and takes part in the group's activities and conversations
• Advantage of participant observations:

  • High internal validity and can build rapport: can make participants behave more naturally and disclosing more
• Disadvantage of participant observation:

  • Can lose objectivity, interpretation of behaviour is biased, seeing only from the participants' perspective
• Non participant observation: The researcher is separate from the participants whose behaviour they are watching and recording
• Advantage of non participant observation:

  • More likely to remain objective in their interpretation of the participant's behaviour
• Disadvantage of non participant observation:

  • Lacks trust and rapport: researcher misses out on important insights
• Observational design: the choice of behaviours to record and how they are measured
• Operationalised behavioural categories: The behaviours need to be clearly identifiable and measurable
• Behavioural categories: Used in structured observations where target behaviours are put into behavioural categories
• Time sampling

  A target individual group or individual is observed and the researcher records their behaviour in a fixed time frame
• Advantage of time sampling:

  • More flexibility to be able to record unexpected types of behaviour
• Disadvantage of time sampling:

  • Can miss behaviour that happens outside of the recording periods
• Event sampling

  A target behaviour is established from the list of the operationalised behavioural categories and the researcher records the event every time it occurs
• Advantage of event sampling

  • As long as the behaviour has been included in the list of behavioural categories it should be recorded if it happens at any stage of the observation
• Disadvantage of event sampling:

  • May miss relevant behaviour that isn't in the list of behavioural categories
• Inter-observer reliability

  • The extent to which there is an agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of a behaviour
  • Measured by correlating the observation of the two or more researchers
  • > +0.8
• Stages of inter-observer reliability

  1. Agree on the behavioural categories to be used
  2. Observers observe behaviour individually at the same time
  3. Observers compare the data and discuss any different interpretations
  4. Observers analyse the data by using a test of correlation to assess the strength between the two data sets
• Self report techniques: The participant reveals personal information about themselves through a series of questions
• Interviews

  A live encounter where one person asks a set of questions to assess person's thoughts and experiences
• Questionnaires

  A set of written questions used to assess a person's thoughts or experiences
• Open questions

  • The question is phrased in a way that allows the participant to answer in any way they choose
  • Produces qualitative data
• Closed questions

  • The question has a fixed set of responses that's determined by the person who sets the questions
  • Produces quantitative data
• Advantage of open questions

  Increased validity: participants have the freedom to choose their responses
• Disadvantage of open questions

  Data analysis between large numbers of participant responses are more difficult, making it harder to spot patterns in responses
• Advantage of closed questions

  Easy data analysis between large numbers of participant responses, making it easier to spot patterns in the data set