observation

• observation is a way of seeing or listening to what people do without having to ask them. Observation is often uses within an experiment as a way of assessing the dependent variable
• strength and limitation of observation:

  • capture what people do- people often act differently from how they say they will in self-report methods. Observations are useful as they give insight onto spontaneous behaviour
  • risk of observer bias- researchers interpretation of the situation may be affected by expectations. Bias can be reduced using more than one observer
• naturalistic observation takes place where the target behaviour would normally occur
• strength and limitation of naturalistic observation:

  • high external validity- in a natural context, behaviour is likely to be more spontaneous. More generalisable to everyday life
  • low control- there may be uncontrolled extraneous and confounding variables. This makes it more difficult to detect patters
• controlled observations are when some control/manipulation of variables including control of extraneous and confounding variables takes place
• strength and limitation of controlled observation:

  • can be replicated- more easily repeated due to standardised procedures. Findings can be checked to see if occur again
  • low external validity- behaviour may be contrived as a result of the setting. Findings cannot be applied to everyday life
• covert observation is when participants are unaware they are being studied
• strength and limitation of covert observation:

  • demand characteristics reduced- participants don't know they are being watched so their behaviour will be more natural. This increases the internal validity of the findings
  • ethically questionable- people may not want behaviour recorded, even in public. Participants’ right to privacy may be affected
• overt observation is when participants are aware of being studied
• strength and limitation of overt observation:

  • more ethically acceptable- participants have given their consent to be studied. They have the right to withdraw if they wish
  • demand characteristics- knowledge of being studied influences behaviour. Reduces the internal validity of the findings
• participant observation is when the researcher becomes part of the group they are studying
• strength and limitation of participant observation:

  • can lead to greater insight- researcher experiences the situation as the participants do. This enhances the external validity of the findings
  • possible loss of objectivity- the researcher may identify too strongly with those they are studying. This threatens the objectivity and internal validity of the findings
• non participant observation is when the researcher remains separate from the group they are studying
• strength and limitation of non participant observation:

  • more objective- researcher maintains an objective distance so less chance of bias. increase the internal validity of the findings
  • loss of insight- research may be too far removed from those they are studying. May reduce the external validity of the findings
• behavioural categories of observational design is when the target behaviour to be observed should be broken up unto a set of observable categories. This is similar to operationalisation
• limitations of behavioural categories of observational design:

  • 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
  • dustbin categories- all forms of behaviour should be in the list and not one dustbin. Dumped behaviours go unrecorded
• event sampling of observational design is when a target behaviour/event is recorded every time it occurs
• strength and limitation of event sampling of observational design:

  • useful for infrequent behaviour- the researcher will still pick up behaviours that don't occur at regular intervals
  • complex behaviour oversimplified- if the event is too complex, important details may go unrecorded. This may affect the validity of the findings
• time sampling of observational design is when observations are made at regular intervals like once every 15 seconds
• strength and limitation of time sampling of observational design:

  • reduces the number of observations- rather than recording everything that is seen data (continuous) is recorded at certain intervals. The observation is more structured and systematic
  • may be unrepresentative- the researcher may miss important details outside of the timescale. May not reflect the whole behaviour