Research Methods- Non-Experimental Methods

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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