observations

Question 1

covert advantage

Answer 1

P = can be praised of Ron participant reactivity
E = this is because participants are unaware they are being observed and so will not change their behaviour
E = good because participants should show more natural behaviour which increases the validity of results

Question 2

covert disadvantage

Answer 2

P = can be criticised for ethical issues
E = this is because participants have not been told they are being observed and therefore cannot be deceived and they have not been able to give consent
E = bad because they have to be fully informed about the nature of the study they are in and not be lied to

Question 3

overt advantage

Answer 3

P = more ethically acceptable
E = participants have given their consent to be studies
E = good because they have the right to withdraw if they wish to

Question 4

overt disadvantage

Answer 4

p = there could be demand characteristics
E = this is because participants have knowledge of being studied which influences behaviour
Ed = bad because it reduces the internal validity of findings

Question 5

participant observation advantage

Answer 5

P = can be praised for providing in-depth in sight
E = this is because the researcher can experience the situation as the participants do, giving them increased knowledge of the lives of the people studied
E = good because it may increase validity of findings

Question 6

participant observation disadvantage

Answer 6

P = criticised for loss of objectivity
E = this is because the researcher may come to identify too strongly with those they are studying 9 going native)
E = bad as it will reduce the validity

Question 7

non-partiicpant observation advantage

Answer 7

P = more objective
E = this is because the researcher maintains an objective distance so9 there is less chance of bias
E = this is good because it may increase internal validity of findings

Question 8

non-partiicpant observation disadvantage

Answer 8

P = loss of insight
E = this is because the researcher may be too far removed from these they study
e = bad because it may reduce the external validity of the findings

Question 9

observations strength

Answer 9

P = capture what people do
E = people often act differently from how they say they will in slef report methods
E =2.718 give insights into spontaneous behaviour

Question 10

observations weakness

Answer 10

P = risk of observer bias
E = researcher’s interpretations of the situtation may be affected by expectations
E = bias can be reduced by using more than one observer

Question 11

naturalistic observation

Answer 11

takes place where the target behaviour would normally occur

Question 12

naturalistic strength

Answer 12

high external validity
natural context = behaviour is liekly to be spontaneous
= more generalisable

Question 13

naturalistic weakness

Answer 13

low control
may be uncontrolled CVs/EVs
makes it more difficult to detect patterns

Question 14

controlled observations

Answer 14

some control/ manipulation of variables including controls of CVs and EVs

Question 15

controlled observations strength

Answer 15

can be replicated
due to standradised procedures
findings can be checked

Question 16

controlled observations weakness

Answer 16

may have low external validity
behaviour may happen due to the setting
Findings cannot be applied to everyday experience

Question 17

observational design - behavioural categories weaknesses X2

Answer 17

difficult to make clear - not always possible to make clear, and not overlap

Question 18

observational design - event sampling strength

Answer 18

useful for infrequent behaviour

Question 19

observational design - event sampling weakness

Answer 19

if the event is too ocmplex = important details may go unrecorded
= affects validity

Question 20

observational design - time sampling strength

Answer 20

reduces the number of observations = is more structured and systematic

Question 21

observational design - time sampling weakness

Answer 21

may be unrepresentative - researcher may miss important details