observational method

• naturalistic:

  watching behaviour in the setting it would normally take place in.

  + high ecological validity
• controlled / non-naturalistic:

  structured environment eg. lab

  + able to focus on particular aspect of behaviour

  + easy replication

  - more demand characteristics

  - low mundane realismm
• overt : pps aware

  + ethical, consent given

  - demand characteristics
• covert: pps unaware of being watched

  + natural behaviour

  - ethical issues, lack of consent, invasion of privacy
• participant: researcher part of group being observed

  + more insightful, increases validity

  - demand characteristics

  - researcher may lose objectivity
• non-participant: does not get involved

  + researcher can be more objective

  - observer bias
• unstructured design:

  consists of continuous recording where the researcher writes down everything they see

  + more detail

  - produces qualitative data which is harder to record and analyse

  - observer bias
• structured design: uses a predetermined list of behaviours and sampling methods

  + quantitative data easier to analyse

  - little depth to research
• time sampling: recording of behaviour within a time frame that is pre-established before the observation

  + less time consuming, less observations made

  - small amount of data, unrepresentative.
• event sampling: counting the number of times a particular behaviour is carried out

  + good for infrequent behaviours

  - important details may be overlooked

  - could be counting errors