observational design

Question 1

ways of recording data: unstructured observation

Answer 1

• researcher may make unstructured observations where they write down everything they see so accounts of behaviour rich in detail are produced
  > only appropriate when observations are small in scale and involve few participants eg. couples therapy

Question 2

ways of recording data: structured observations

Answer 2

• there may be too much going on in a single observation for the researcher to record it all
• target behaviours are identified that will become the main focus of the investigation
• this then becomes a structured observation

Question 3

strengths of structured observations

Answer 3

• makes recording data easier and more systematic
• data produced is likely to be numerical which means analysing and comparing the behaviour observed between participants is more straightforward

Question 4

strengths of unstructured observations

Answer 4

more richness and depth of detail in the data collected

Question 5

limitations of unstructured observations

Answer 5

• tend to produce qualitative data, which may be much more difficult to record and analyse
• greater risk of observer bias, as there are no objective behavioural categories
  > the researcher may only record those behaviours that ‘catch their eye’ and these may not be the most important or useful

Question 6

what are behavioural categories?

Answer 6

when a target behaviour is broken up into components that are observable and measurable (operationalisation)
> before observation begins, the researcher should ensure that they have, as far as possible, included all the ways in which the target behaviour may occur within their behavioural checklist

Question 7

strengths of behavioural categories

Answer 7

makes data collection more structured and objective

Question 8

limitations of behavioural categories

Answer 8

• it is important that such categories are as clear and unambiguous as possible
  > they must be observable, measurable and self-evident; they should not require further interpretation
• researchers should ensure that all possible forms of the target behaviour are included in the checklist
  > there should not be a ‘dustbin category’ in which many different behaviours are deposited
• categories should be exclusive and not overlap
  > the difference between ‘smiling’ and ‘grinning’ would be very difficult to discern

Question 9

sampling methods: continuous recording

Answer 9

• key feature of unstructured observations
• all instances of a target behaviour are recorded
• for very complex behaviours, this method may not be practical or feasible

Question 10

how does sampling occur in structured observations?

Answer 10

the researcher must use a systematic way of sampling their observations:
- event sampling
- time sampling

Question 11

what is event sampling?

Answer 11

a target behaviour or event is first established then the researcher records this event every time it occurs
> eg. counting the number of times players disagree with the referee

Question 12

what is time sampling?

Answer 12

a target individual or group is first established then the researcher records their behaviour in a fixed time frame
> eg. in a football match, you make note (using a behavioural checklist) of what one specific player is doing every 30 seconds

Question 13

evaluation of event sampling

Answer 13

+ useful when the target behaviour or event happens quite infrequently and could be missed if time sampling was used
- if the specified is too complex, the observer may overlook important details

Question 14

evaluation of time sampling

Answer 14

+ effective in reducing the number of observations that have to be made
- those instances when a behaviour is sampled might be unrepresentative of the observations as a whole

Question 15

what is inter-observer reliability?

Answer 15

the extent to which there is agreement between two or more observers involved in observations of a behaviour. the data from different observers should be compared to check for consistency ie. reliability

Question 16

how can inter-observer reliability be achieved?

Answer 16

• observers should familiarise themselves with the behavioural categories to be used
• they should observe the same behaviour at the same time, perhaps as part of a small-scale pilot study
• observers should compare the data they have recorded and discuss and differences in interpretations
• finally, observers should analyse the data from the study

Question 17

how is inter-observer reliability calculated?

Answer 17

by correlating each pair of observations made and producing an overall figure