Observation Flashcards
(26 cards)
Observation
-A non experimental technique where the researcher watches and records the natural behaviour of participants without manipulating the levels of independent variables
Controlled observations
-Controlled observations are when researchers control the situation that the participants experience
-This is often conducted in a laboratory setting
Advantages of controlled observations
-Highly controlled conditions reduces the effect of extraneous variables on observed behaviour
-The observations are highly replicable due to the use of standardised procedures
Disadvantages of Controlled experiments
-The artificial nature of the environment in controlled observations may cause participants to exhibit unnatural behaviour and behave in ways they would not normally in real-world situations
Naturalistic observations
-Naturalistic observations are observations that occur in “real world” environments
-For example places that people spend a lot of time e.g work, school, their own homes
Advantages of naturalistic experiments
-High external validity, results can be generalised to other “real world” situations
-High realism as participants are more likely to exhibit natural behaviours
Disadvantages of naturalistic experiments
-Little control in extraneous variables affecting the observation, difficult for researchers to determine cause and effect, lowering the internal validity
Overt observation
-An overt observation is when participants can see the researcher and are aware that their behaviour is being observed and recorded
Overt observation advantages
-An advantage of overt observations is that it is more ethical, researchers receive informed consent from participants
Overt observation disadvantages
-Since participants are aware that they are being observed and recorded, there is a higher likelihood of them exhibiting demand characteristics or social desirability; altering their behaviour to appear better
Covert observation
-A covert observation is when the participant is unaware that they’re behaviour is being observed/recorded
Advantages of covert observation
-Since the participants are unaware that they are being observed/recorded they are less likely to exhibit demand characteristics or social desirability, meaning findings are more applicable to real world situations
-This method of observation has ethical concerns as researchers do not have informed consent from participants
Participant observation
-Participant observation is when the researcher joins the group that is being observed and takes part in the group’s activities or group conversations
Advantage of participant observations
-Allows the researcher to build more trust and confidence with participants, leading to them behaving more naturally and disclosing more
Disadvantages of participant observations
-Researchers may lack objectivity, as they can only see the experiment from a participant point of view
Advantages of non participant observations
-In non participant observations, researchers are more likely to remain objective when interpreting the behaviour of participants
Disadvantages of Non participant observations
-In non participant observations, researchers are less likely to build a rapport or trust/ confidence with participants, meaning that the participants are less likely to behave naturally and will likely disclose less
Observational design
-Observational design is the choice of behaviours to record and how they are measured
Operationalised behavioural categories
-Behavioural categories need to be operationalised:
behaviours need to be easily identified and measured e.g aggression= number of punches/kicks
Time sampling
-Time sampling is when the researcher records all relevant information in a specific time frame
-For example all behaviour in 15 seconds, every ten minutes in an hour long observation
Event sampling
-Event sampling is when the researcher records/tallies every time a behavior occurs from the list of operationalised behavioural categories
Time sampling disadvantage
-The researcher may miss relevant behaviours that occur outside of recording periods
Event sampling disadvantage
-Researchers may miss relevant information that is not on the list of behavioural categories
How is reliability of observations assessed
-Researchers need to assess the reliability of their observations by seeing if it is consistent with the observations of other researchers
