observational techniques

• observational techniques

  • used to sometimes record dependent variables (bandura)
  • used to study behaviour where it would be unethical to manipulate / cant be directly manipulated by the researcher
  • what people say and do are very different
• naturalistic and controlled observations

  • naturalistic - experimenter doesnt interfere with experiment, in natural environment
  • controlled - experimenter does interfere with experiment, in controlled environment
  • .
  • :) = naturalistic - people behave more naturally than for controlled, higher external validity, info gathered is richer and fuller than experimental methods
  • :( = naturalistic - no control over the situation, low internal validity and reliability compared to controlled
  • :( = naturalistic - difficult to replicate, controlled are easier
• covert and overt observations

  • covert - Ps behaviour being watched and recorded without their knowledge / consent
  • overt - Ps behaviour being watched and recorded with knowledge / consent
  • .
  • :) = covert - higher in validity, people may change their behaviour if they know theyre being watched (hawthorne effect, demand characteristics, screw you effect)
  • :( = covert - raises ethical issues (no consent given)
• participant and non-participant observations

  • participant - researcher observes group from within the group
  • non-participant - observes from a location away from the group (oftsted)
  • .
  • :) = P - give greater insight into behaviour of the group
  • :( = P - unlike NP they are less likely to be objective
• unstructured observations

  • researcher records all relevant behaviour but has no system
  • .
  • :( = may to too much to record
  • :( = behaviours recorded will often be most visible to observer but these may not necessarily be the most important / relevant
  • :) = can be used to see what type of behaviours may be recorded using a structures system
• structured observations

  • systems used to organise observations
  • 2 main ways to structure - behavioural catagories and sampling procedures
• behavioural catagories (structured observations)

  • dividing target behaviour into a subset of specific and operationalised behaviours
  • operationalisation - breaking up the behaviour being studied into a set of components

  the catagories should ...

  • be objective - observer shouldnt have to make inferences but record explicit actions
  • cover all poss component behaviours - avoid a waste basket category
  • be mutually exclusive - should not have to mark 2 catagories at one time
• sampling procedures

  • event sampling - observational technique in which a count is kept of the amount of times a certain behaviour (event) occurs
  • time sampling - observational technique in which observer records behaviours in a given time frame (eg. noting what an individual is doing every 30s) observer may select more than one behavioural catagories to tick at this time interval