Observation Of Mobile Phone Usage PI-2 Flashcards
Aim of observational study
Do students use mobile phones differently in social and study areas of a school environment?
What are the categories of mobile phone use you will look for & measure?
Mobile phone use will be operationalised according to the following behavioural categories:
- Calling/Talking on a mobile phone - Educational/Study use
- Texting/Messaging - Entertainment e.g. to watch TV/Youtube
- Glancing e.g. to check time - Gaming
- Scrolling – to include searching for information, social media, shopping
- Listening to music - Sharing a mobile phone screen with others
- Taking a picture/camera
Why have such behavioural categories been identified?
As the researchers are also students of the same age demographic as those in the target population, it is felt that the behavioural categories identified provide a comprehensive range of the observable ways that pupils are likely to use their phones in an educational setting. By identifying so many behavioural categories, this allows researchers to be more precise in the data collected, draw more accurate and robust conclusions about the way mobile phones are used in schools and avoid a waste basket category such as ‘Any other mobile phone use’.
How will ‘social area’ be operationalised for the purpose of the current investigation?
A social area will be considered to be a space where the primary purpose is to gather and interact with others. It is a space deigned to promote and optimize human interaction. It is a place where friends can gather for entertainment, discussion or other social activities e.g. game playing.
How will ‘study area’ use be operationalised for the purpose of the current investigation?
A study area will be considered to be a dedicated area where students can focus on their academic work without distractions. The primary purpose is to enable concentration and to learn. The space is not restricted to a particular subject or discipline by contained equipment.
What pre-existing research have you been able to identify in the area of mobile phone use?
- Radesky et Al : Cell phones at the dinner table; non participant observation of 55 caregivers with 1 or more children at fast food restaurants. Common themes found that phone use decreased the caregivers responsiveness and conversation with children. Highly absorbed caregivers responded harshly to child misbehaviour. Also found kids who were ignored would make increasingly demanding gestures for attention
- Non profit organisation called common sense media involved android users aged between 11-17. Studied how much preteens and teenagers used phones. Study found duration of day, smartphone use varied from few minutes to over 16 hours. Research demonstrated however brief usage was, phones were rarely out of reach, younger children checked phones les frequently than older
State an operationalised experimental/alternative hypothesis:
There will be a difference between the way sixth form students use mobile phones (measured by separate behavioural categories) in a social area (common room) and a study area (study room)
State whether directional or non directional
Non directional as there is no pre-existing research into this are so need to remain open minded, can’t go in one direction
State an appropriate null hypothesis:
There will be no difference in the number of participants observed to be using or not using a mobile phone in a social and study area of a school setting. Any difference that does occur does so by chance.
State why you have chosen a non participant methodology
A non-participant observation has been selected as this will allow for the researcher to observe the spontaneous reactions and responses of participants without their knowledge. This will mean that there are lowered levels of demand characteristics. As the observer will be observing from afar, participants interactions with their mobile phones across the two school settings will be more realistic and generalisable to similar real-world locations.
By conducting the observation as a non-participant observation, it will also mean that the researchers will be able to record their data relating to mobile phone use in real time. This will mean that the data will be more accurate and reliable as a result as not having to record this retrospectively which is open to distortion, inaccuracy and researcher bias
State why you have chosen time and event sampling :
- Time Sampling has been selected for recording the number of instances of using/not using a mobile phone in a given time frame. This will help to reduce the amount of data to be analysed compared to continuous observation and reduce the risk of researcher bias. By adopting time sampling, this will lead to the production of quantitative data which is easier to analyse than qualitative data.
- Event Sampling has also been selected, but this will be used to identify differences across several behavioural categories of mobile phone use e.g. scrolling, calling, texting in the different settings of a school environment. Event sampling will help to reduce the overall amount of data to be analysed compared to continuous observation and ensure that more accurate and informed conclusions can be reached as only those pre- determined instances of mobile phone use will be recorded.
State why you have chosen tally chart as the method of data collection
A behavioural checklist/tally chart has been selected as:
- Data will be quantitative and so therefore easier to analyse (no. of tallies in each category of mobile phone use e.g. calling, texting, scrolling)
- Will allow for additional focus on the specific instances of mobile phone use under interest
- Data can be quickly and conveniently recorded in real time so to avoid retrospective recollection of data. Written notes would have resulted in extensive amounts of qualitative data which is time consuming to produce and difficult to analyse. Audio/video recordings have been avoided due to privacy/consent implications particularly due to the age of pps and the school environment being utilised.
State why you chose 3 observers:
No more than 3 were chosen as it ensures that observers remain covert as it would not be discrete to observe mobile phone use with more observers and can lead to students finding out there are being studied. More than 2 observers were used as it ensures inter-rater reliability so that observations of mobile phone use are measured accurately
State why you have chosen the field as the location of research
A field location of a school has been selected as this will allow for greater ecological validity of the data. The mobile phone use observed is likely to be authentic and natural and therefore more generalisable to real world behaviour and so increasing the relevance of the research findings. If a lab location had been adopted, this would have increased the risk of demand characteristics and pps may have used their phones differently to their typical and real-world behaviour as a result of the unfamiliar and highly controlled setting.
Describe how the ethical issues will affect your study
Confidentiality: Participants will be unaware of their participation and so it is essential to protect their identity as they may not wish to be linked to the data collected on their mobile phone use e.g. the amount of time spent scrolling.
Risk of stress, anxiety, humiliation or pain: Participants may experience embarrassment or humiliation if their mobile phone use was observed to be particularly excessive or if they were using their phone for social purposes in the academic setting and vice versa. The experience of being observed could also be particularly distressing for some.
Risk to privacy: Participants will be unaware as to their participation and some may feel that being watched and analysed for their mobile phone use constitutes an invasion of their privacy.
Consent: Individual consent will not be sought from participants. This would result in the observation becoming overt and may result in a change in behaviour either to provide the results that they think the researcher wants or to sabotage the study (demand characteristics).
How will you overcome these ethical issues
Confidentiality: This will be dealt with by ensuring the anonymity of participants. No personal data including names will be recorded, or necessarily known to the observers. Only tally scores relating to mobile phone use across the different settings will be collected, meaning participants will not be directly identifiable from the data.
Risk of stress, anxiety, humiliation or pain: Any risk of harm and humiliation is deemed minimal as the observation will be conducted covertly, participants will not be aware of being observed and as their names will not be taken/used there is no risk of embarrassing use of their mobile phones being linked to them personally in order that a stigma be created against them. A general statement of debrief was posted to the online notice boards of Year 12 and Year 13 pupils.
Risk to privacy: The observation will be conducted in a public place on school site. This is a location where students would be expected to be viewed by others. Participants will be made aware through prior general consent that observations of mobile phone use will be taking place in these locations. If student participants feel that their privacy is being infringed upon, they can avoid these public spaces during the published observational window. Furthermore, only observable actions of mobile phone use will be recorded, there will be no attempt to identify what is taking place on the screens of the mobile phones being viewed.
Consent: Consent for the observation will be sought from the Head of Sixth Form who has pastoral responsibility for the sixth form students being used as participants. In addition, prior general consent will be sought by placing a notice on the online noticeboards of Year 12 and Year 13 students to advise that observations of mobile phone use will be taking place across a series of days and should participants not wish to have their mobile phone use observed that the designated social and study areas of the school be avoided.
Who are your target population
Sixth form students in a high school, aged 16-18
State why you have chosen opportunity sampling
- Opportunity sampling has been selected due to its efficiency compared to other research methods e.g. random sampling. There is a strict time limit placed on the investigation because it is being conducted as a school-based study. The opportunity method is far quicker and more convenient than a random method of sampling.
- Opportunity sampling works well based on the covert nature of the observation taking place. In using those conveniently available in the 2 locations under observation, they will be unaware of their participation in the study. In self selected sample mobile phone use will be not be natural and demand characteristics can result in social desirability bias so may present mobile phone use acceptably
Are there any potential EXTRANEOUS variables which could compromise/bias the results of the investigation?
Time of Day: If observations were made at different times of the day this would confound findings. Participants may use their phones differently in the morning session of the school day in comparison to the afternoon session. Ty Celyn (social space) is very quiet in the afternoon and so pupils may be more likely to use their phones at this time due to lack of company.
Time of School Term/Academic Year: If observations were made at different times of the school year, this may impact student use of mobile phones. It may be that students use their phones less during exam season as they will be revising.
Weather conditions: If observations were made under different weather conditions this may confound findings. Pps may be more likely to use their mobile phones when the weather is poor than under sunny/warm conditions.
Are there any potential CONFOUNDING variables which could compromise/bias the results of the investigation ?
Data Connection/Network signal/Battery life: This could compromise findings as different students may have better/worse access to network signal or data/chargers than others. This could offer an alternative explanation for their mobile phone use.
Individual Differences: Participants using the two locations may differ to one another in terms of their sociability. This could impact their mobile phone use. Students in the study setting may be less sociable than those in the study setting and may use their phones more as a result of frequency of time spent alone.
Demand Characteristics: As pps were made aware that observations will be taking place for ethical purposes, it may be that some pps will purposefully alter their mobile phone use in the study and social spaces under study to try and please the researchers.
How do you intend to turn such CONFOUNDING/EXTRANEOUS variables into controlled variables and so eliminate their impact on the investigation?
Time of day – all observations will be conducted during the same lesson in the am/pm session of the school day.
Time of school term/academic year - all observations will be conducted during the same lesson, on the same day of the school year.
Weather conditions – as observations will be conducted across different settings at the same time of day, weather conditions will be held constant.
Access to mobile phones – all students will attend the same school and come from the same serving catchment area. Access to mobile phones will be similar for all pps attending the school where the research is taking place.
Demand characteristics – pps are unaware of exactly when observations will be taking place, observations will also be conducted covertly. This will reduce the extent to which pps will be able to purposefully alter their mobile phone use.
Wifi connection – on the day of the observation IT technicians will be consulted to ensure that the school’s public Wifi was fully functional.
Confounding/extraneous variables that are not able to be controlled
Data Connection/Network signal/Battery life: We have no way of knowing what level of signal/data/battery life pps currently have on their mobile phones as the observation will be conducted as non-participant and covert.
Individual Differences – as the observation is being conducted using opportunity sampling and making use of those individuals who are conveniently available in the two school locations at the time of the observation, no details are known about pps in advance of the data collection. There is no way to therefore measure and control for the personality and sociability levels of pps included in the study.
Are there any issues of reliability within the current investigation
Inter-rater/Inter-observer reliability: recording of behaviour and interpretation of the behavioural categories of mobile phone use e.g. calling, texting, scrolling could differ across the X (number) observers tasked with data collection. E.g. would two observers interpret & record ‘glancing’ in the same way as one another?
Stability (or intra-rater reliability): Can the same observer apply the categories of mobile phone use consistently across the two different settings (social and study areas). E.g. the observer may have a better viewing position in one location in comparison to another and records mobile phone use differently.
Explain how you would implement inter rater reliability
- Two or more assessors will independently score/record their own data of mobile phone use across the different academic settings under comparison. They will each implement time and event sampling. Time sampling of whether pps under observation are using/not using their mobile phone at given time intervals. Event sampling will involve observing mobile phone use across different behavioural categories e.g. calling, texting, scrolling.
- The data obtained from each scorer will be correlated.
- A significant positive correlation obtained from observers indicates good reliability and that categories of mobile phone use have been applied consistently across individuals.
