MELC 5 - Observation

• Observation is a technique of gathering data whereby you personally watch, interact, or communicate with the subjects of your research.
• Observation


  It lets you record what people exactly do and say in their everyday life on Earth.
• Observation


  It is also used in the social sciences as method for collecting data about people, processes and culture.
• Through observation, proofs to support your claims or conclusions about your topic are obtained in a natural setting.
• Witnessing the subjects manages themselves in a certain situation and interpreting or expressing your thoughts and feelings about your observation, you tend to deal with the observation results in a subjective manner.
• The element of subjectivity makes observation inferior to other techniques.
• The two types of observation are: participant observation and non-participant observation.
• Participant Observation


  The observer, who is the researcher, takes part in the activities of the individual or group being observed.
• True 


  True or False: Your actual involvement enables you to obtain first hand knowledge about the subjects’ behavior and the way they interact with one another.
• To record your findings through participant observation, use the diary method or the logbook.
• Descriptive observation


  This first part of the diary describes the people, places, events, conversation, and other things involved in the activity or object focused on by the research.
• Narrative account


  This second part of the diary gives your interpretations or reflections about everything you observed.
• Non-participant or Structural Observation
• Non-participant or Structural Observation


  This type of observation completely detaches you from the target of your observation.
• Non-participant or Structural Observation 


  You just watch and listen to them do their own thing, without you participating in any of their activities.
• Recording of non-participation observations happens through the use of a checklist. 
• In recording of non-participant observations, others call this checklist as an observation schedule.
• These two observation types, participation and non-participation,

  can occur in either of the covert or overt observation models.
• Covert


  This observation model lets you observe the subjects secretly. You need to stay in a place where the subjects don’t get sight of or feel your presence, much less, have the chance to converse with you.
• Overt


  This observation model permits you to divulge things about your research to the participants. 
• The two methods of observation are direct observation and indirect observation.
• Direct Observation


  This observation method makes you see or listen to everything that happens in the area of observation. 
•  To avoid waste of energy, time and effort in observing, you have to stick to the questions that your research aims at answering.
• What you ought to focus your attention to during the observation is specified by your research problem in general as well as your specific research questions.
• Indirect Observation


  This method is also called behavior archaeology.
• In indirect observation, you observe traces of past events to get information or a measure of behavior, trait, or quality of your subject. 
• Some forms of indirect observation are tape recordings, pictures, letter, notices, minutes of meetings, business correspondence, and garbage cans.
• The two methods of indirect observation are continuous monitoring and spot sampling.
• Continuous Monitoring


  Here, you observe to evaluate the way people deal with one another.
• Continuous Monitoring


  This is the main data gathering technique used in behavioral psychology, where people’s worries, anxieties, habits, and problems in shopping malls, play areas, family homes, or classrooms serve as the focus of duties in this field of discipline.
• True


  True or False: In continuous monitoring, constant observation is required.
• Spot Sampling


  This focuses on researching the extent of children’s nervous habits as they would go through their regular personality development.
• For a continuous or uninterrupted focus on the subjects, you record

  your observations through spot sampling in an oral manner, not in a

  written way.
• Spot Sampling is also named as scan sampling or time sampling
• Spot sampling comes in two types: time allocation and experience sampling.
• Time Allocation


  What goes into the record are the best activities of people you observed in undetermined places and time.
• Experience sampling


  This lets you record people’s responses anytime of the day or week to question their present activities, companions, feelings, and so on.
• Data gathering in experience sampling is facilitated by modern electronic and technological gadgets like cellphone, emails, and other online communication methods or techniques.