Research methods: designing observation Flashcards
What is an unstructured observation
A type of observation where every instance of behaviour is recorded in as much detail as possible
What is an structured observation
A type of observation where researchers uses various systems to organise observations such as sampling technique and behavioural categories
What is target behaviour
Behaviour which is the main focus of an investigation
What is behavioural categories
A checklist of behaviours to be observed in individual components each component should be an observable behaviour
What is continuous observation?
Making note of everything without pause
What is event sampling
When the researcher records the number of times a particular behaviour or event occurs in target group
What is time sampling ?
When the researcher records behaviour within a pre determined time frame
What is inter observer reliability
The extent to which there is an agreement between two or more observers involved in the observation of a behaviour. This is measured by correlating the observations of a behaviour two or more observations.
If between +0.8 - high
What does quantitive mean ?
Data can be counted usually given as number
What does qualitative mean
Data that is expressed in words and non numerical form
What is observer bias
When observations expectations. Affects what they see or hear. This reduces the validity of the observation
When is unstructured observation is used ?
When observations are small in scale and involve few partcipants
Why might a structured observation be used ?
Too much going on for researcher to record everything
What happens to the target behaviour before an observation
They are clearly defined
What does structured observations do
Quantify their observations
