Observation Flashcards
Covert observation limitations
Less ethical as participants are not aware they are taking part and cannot give fully informed consent
Covert observation strengths
STRENGTHSInvestigator effects are unlikely meaning that participants’ behaviour will be genuine
Overt - strength
It is possible to inform participants in advance and obtain informed consent.
Overt - limitation
LIMITATIONSBehaviour can be distorted through investigator effects in which the participant changes their behaviour through social desirability bias
Ppn observation - strength
The researcher can obtain in-depth data as they are in close proximity to the participants and so are unlikely to overlook or miss any behaviours.
Ppn on - limitation
The researchers’ presence might influence the participants’ behaviour due to evaluation apprehension,
Non ppn ob - strength
Investigator effects and evaluation apprehension are less likely as the researcher is not visible.
Non ppn ob. -limitation
Due to a lack of proximity the researcher might overlook or miss behaviours of interest.
Operationalising. -why?
The behaviours that the researcher is interested in need to be clearly defined (operationalised) so that the observer knows what to look out for and measure; eventually these can be counted up to produce a score.
Time sampling
Behaviours noted with prescribed intervals
Event sampling
Tally over the time of an event
Naturalistic
Observation without intervention in observed peoples own environment
Controlled
Observation is controlled soften in a lab or observation room
Structured / systematic
Observation that uses explicitly defined coding framework for data recording
Observational design
Solely observational and no experiments
