Naturalistic Observation
Studied in a natural setting
Everything left as normal
Naturalistic Observation- Strength
High ecological validity
Naturalistic Observation- Limitation
No control
Controlled Observation
Same variables are controlled by the researcher
Participants know they’re being observed
Usually in lab conditions
Controlled Observation- Strength
High control
Controlled Observation- Limitation
Low ecological validity
Overt Observation
Participants are aware
Overt Observation- Strength
Ethical
Overt Observation- Limitation
Social desirability, demand characteristics
Covert Observation
Participants are not aware
Covert Observation- Strength
Realistic behaviour
Covert Observation- Limitation
Ethical issues
Participant Observation
Observer joins the group being studied
Participant Observation- Strength
Can get ‘insider info’
Participant Observation- Limitation
May miss things
Investigator effects
Non-Participant Observation
Observer watches from a distance and does not interact with the people being studied
Non-Participant Observation- Strength
Remain objective and alert
Non-Participant Observation- Limitation
Can only observe what is shown
Structured Observation
Organised, where behavioural categories and sampling procedures are used
Structured Observation- Strength
Less observer bias
Structured Observation- Limitation
Not much detail
Unstructured Observation
Researcher records all relevant behaviour without a system in place
Unstructured Observation- Strength
More detailed results
Unstructured Observation- Limitation
More observer bias/qualitative
Behavioural Categories
Categorising behaviours intended to be viewed
Usually decided before observation
Must be objective and observable
Event Sampling
Counting number of times a specific behaviour occurs within a set period of time
Event Sampling- Strength
Behaviours will not be missed so good for infrequent behaviours
Event Sampling- Limitation
TIme consuming and difficult to record everything
Time Sampling
Recording any behaviours which occur in given set time intervals
Time Sampling- Strength
Time to record what is seen
Time Sampling- Limitation
Infrequent behaviours may be missed
Questionnaires
Made up of a pre-set list of written questions to which a participant responds
Questionnaires- Advantages
Can be distributed to lots of people
Easily replicable
Closed, fixed choice questions are easy to statistically analyse
Questionnaires- Disadvantages
Social desirability bias
Anonymity causes difficulty in knowing if someone is telling the truth
Open Questions- Strength
Responses aren’t restricted
Open Questions- Limitation
Difficult to analyse
Closed Questions- Strength
Easier to analyse
Closed Questions- Limitation
Responses are restricted
Interviews
Face-to-face interaction between an interviewer and interviewee
Interviews- Advantage
Better awareness of truthfulness of interviewee
Interviews- Disadvantage
Risk of interviewer bias
Structured Interviews
A list of predetermined questions asked in a fixed order
Unstructured Interviews
No set questions, general topic to be discussed but interaction is free flowing
Semi-Structured Interviews
A list of questions that have been worked out in advance but interviewers ask further questions based on answers
Social Desirability Bias
Giving socially favorable answers due to the presence of the interviewer
Interviewer Effect
Effects of interviewers presence
Case Study
A detailed, in-depth analysis of an individual or small group.
Tend to be longitudinal studies fathering large amounts of data from many sources
Case Study- Strengths
Rich, detailed insight enable the study of unusual behaviour
Often used to support/challenge other larger-scale research
Case Study- Limitations
Can be prone to researcher bias
Not reliable and has very little population validity
Content Analysis
Producing quantitative data by categorising qualitative data into meaningful unit and counting how many times they occur
Pre-existing Categories
Categories set before research begins
Emergent Categories
Categories emerge when examining data