Observations

Question 1

how can an observation become systematic

Answer 1

it must be selective

Question 2

2 types of observational method

Answer 2

naturalistic

controlled

Question 3

naturalistic observation

Answer 3

observing participants in their normal everyday enmvrimonment

Question 4

controlled observation

Answer 4

observations in a situation that has been produced by the experimenter specifically for observation

Question 5

how do naturalistic observations avoid problems with consent and deception

Answer 5

takes place in a public setting where people would expect to be seen by others

Question 6

how do controlled observations avoid problems with consent and deception

Answer 6

most of the time participants are aware they are taking part

Question 7

what problems does the lack of control in naturalistic observations cause

Answer 7

inability to replicate - decreases validity - harder to test findings for reliability

Question 8

weakness of participants knowing they are involved in an observation

Answer 8

higher risk of demand characteristics

Question 9

impact of an artificial setting on validity

Answer 9

low ecological validity

reduces ability to generalise to real life settings

Question 10

impact on the lack of control over a setting in a naturalistic observation

Answer 10

cannot produce cause and effect

confounding variables may be present

Question 11

why do naturalistic observations have high ecological validity

Answer 11

natural setting that occurs in real life

can be generalised

Question 12

positives of an artificial setting

Answer 12

confounding variables are reduced
cause and effect are clear

Question 13

ethical issues of a naturalistic observation

Answer 13

invasion of privacy - especially when participants are unaware they are being observed

Question 14

when can a risk of observer bias occur

Answer 14

when there are no guidelines on how to record the behaviour

Question 15

2 types of observational design

Answer 15

overt and covert

Question 16

overt observation

Answer 16

those being observed are aware of the fact

Question 17

covert observation

Answer 17

the participants are unaware that they are being observed

Question 18

which participant design has higher validity

Answer 18

covert - less demand characteristics

Question 19

which participant design allows informed consent to be obtained

Answer 19

overt

Question 20

which participant design is more difficult to replicate data from

Answer 20

covert

Question 21

participant design

Answer 21

the observer also participates in the experiment being observed

Question 22

non-participant design

Answer 22

the observer doesn’t participate in the experiment being observed

Question 23

what makes the participant design have high validity

Answer 23

researcher is able to get an insider viewpoint

Question 24

what makes the participant design have reduced reliability

Answer 24

the researcher may influence the other participants’ behaviour

Question 25

what makes the non-participant observation more reliable

Answer 25

researcher doesn't get involved more likely to be objective with findings reduces researcher bias more accurate conclusions

Question 26

why could a non-participant observation have high validity

Answer 26

easier to record data because the observer is not involved

Question 27

why could a non-participant observation have reduced validity

Answer 27

lacks direct involvement or understanding of the phenomena - the data collected may be compromised less accurate or authentic findings

Question 28

4 ways in which data can be collected

Answer 28

facts events behaviours continuous detailed notes

Question 29

two types of sampling

Answer 29

event sampling time sampling

Question 30

event sampling

Answer 30

specific behaviours are recorded every time they occur

Question 31

time sampling

Answer 31

the behaviour of each participant is recorded at fixed intervals

Question 32

how can inter-rater reliability be improved during observations

Answer 32

operationalised coding systems train observers with practice observations correlating one observers data with those of another