Observational Design

Question 1

What is an unstructured observation?

Answer 1

The researcher records any relevant behaviour with no system

Question 2

What is structured observation?

Answer 2

A researcher uses systems to organise observations e.g behavioural categories

Question 3

What is inter-observer reliability?

Answer 3

O observations being carried out by two observers to reduce bias. If there is consistency between the observers there is high inter-observer reliability.

Question 4

What are two sampling methods for a structured observation? What are they?

Answer 4

1. Event sampling- the researcher records every time the target behaviour occurs
2. Time sampling- The researcher records target behaviour in a given time frame

Question 5

What is an advantage and disadvantage for event sampling?

Answer 5

Advantage: useful when target behaviour happens infrequently
Disadvantage: if the event is too complex observer may overlook important details

Question 6

What is an advantage and disadvantage of time sampling?

Answer 6

Advantage: effective in reducing number of observations made
Disadvantage: when behaviour is samples it might not be representative of the observation as a whole