observation techniques

• one important non experimental method is observations. observations provide psychologists with a way of seeing what people do without having to ask the . they also allow researchers to study observable behaviours within a natural or controlled setting. this method allows a researcher the flexibility to study more complex interactions between variables in a more natural way
• naturalistic observations take place in the setting or context where the target behaviour would usually occur. all aspects of the environment are free to vary. they can be structured in advance to make sure no behaviours are missed
• naturalistic observations tend to have high external validity as findings can be generalised to everyday life since the behaviour is studied within the environment where it would normally occur. however, the lack of control over the research situation makes replication of the investigation difficult. this means there are uncontrolled extraneous variables that make it more difficult to judge any pattern of behaviour
• it is sometimes useful to control certain aspects of the research situation, so a controlled observation may be prefferd. for example, mary ainsworth made use of controlled observation as part of her strange situation studies as ainsworth recorded the way in which children reacted to their mothers and how they dealt with the introduction of a stranger within a specially designed playroom environment. in a controlled observation, there is some control over variables including manipulating variables to observe effects and also control extraneous variables
• a strength of controlled observation is that it is conducted in a controlled observation meaning extranous variables can be controlled for so it becomes possible for cause and effect to be established. a weakness of controlled observation is that they may lack ecological validty compared to naturalistic observations as they are in an artifical setting so may not be readily applied to real life settings
• covert observations are those in which particpants are unaware they are the focus of a study and their behaviour is observed in secret by the observer
• a strength of covert observations is that the particpants do not know they are being watched which removes demand characteristics and ensures behaviour will be natural. this increases the validity of the data gathered. however, a disadvantage of covert observations is that gaining ethical approval may be difficult. th particpants may not wish to have their behaviours observed unknown to them
• an overt observation is when participants know their behaviour is being observed and have given their fully informed consent beforehand
• one strength of overt observations is that they are more ethically sound because particpants are aware of the study. however, a weakness of overt observations is that they may suffer from extraneous variables as if particpants know they are being observed they may change their behaviour (demand characteristics)
• a participant observation is when the observer becomes part of the group they are studying
• an advantage of participant observation is that the researcher can experience the same situation as the participants meaning they can build a relationship with the group. this matters as the observer can gain an increased insight into the lives of the people studied. however, a weakness of participant observation is that the researcher may indentify too strongly with those they are studying meaning the research will lose its objectivity
• a non participant observation is when the researcher remains seperate from those they are studying and records behaviour in a more objective manner. it may often be impractical to join particular groups so non participant is the only option
• a strength of non participant observation is that the researcher can maintain an objective psychological distance from their participants so there is less danger of them 'going native' (when the line between being a researcher and particpant becomes blurred). however, a weakness of non particpant observation is that researchers may lose the valuable insight to be gained in a participant observation as they are too far removed from the group dynamics
• sometimes researchers may undertake structured observations. this is where the behaviour categories that are going to be used are defined in advance. an advantage of structured observations is that it is easier to gather relevant data because the researcher already know what theyre looking for. however, a disadvantage of structured observations is that interesting behaviours could go unrecorded because they havent been pre defined as important
• observations can produce qualitative data by making written notes, video or audio recording
• observations must have categorised behaviours. the researcher must define the behaviours they are aiming to observe. this involves giving an operationalised definitions (specific, observable behaviours). however, researchers must be careful not to miss out any other important behaviours when operationlising
• the behaviours that researchers are interested in may be things that are a matter of degree, so they might need to use a rating scale to classify behaviour. observers could put each participants behaviour into one of several categories (not aggressive, midly aggressive, very aggressive). alternately, the observer could use a coding system where each participant is given a number (between 1 and 10) to represent ther behaviour where a high score represents more extreme behaviours. behaviours rated using the coding system produces quantitative data
• observers have to decide how often and for how long they are going to observe the participants. there are two types of sampling that can be used; time sampling and event sampling
• event sampling is when the researcher only records particular events that theyre interested in and ignore other behaviours. a strength of event sampling is that the researcher know exactly what behaviours theyre looking for so it is easier. however, a disadvantage is that they other important behaviours may be ignored
• time interval sampling is used if the behaviours occur over a long time period. researchers can observe behaviours for only set time intervals. the time intervals could be chosen randomly. a strength is that it is very convenient for the researchers to carry out. however, a disadvantage is that important behaviours that occur outside the sample intervals wont be recorded