observations

what are they? a study that involves watching actual behaviours

N A T U R A L I S T I C

watching and recording behaviour in the person's normal, everyday environment, without interfering

e.g. watching children play in their normal school playground and recording how often they share toys

strengths

high ecological validity

  • behaviour is studied in a real-life setting, so the behaviour is more likely to reflect what people naturally do → findings may have greater real-world validity

less demand characteristics

  • participants may be less aware of what behaviour the researcher is looking for, especially if the observation is unobtrusive → they may behave more naturally

weaknesses

less control

  • researchers cannot control extraneous variables in a real-life environment

→ It is harder to establish cause and effect

difficult to replicate

  • real-life situations constantly change, so another researcher may struggle to recreate exactly the same conditions

→ lower reliability

C O N T R O L L E D

watching and recording behaviour in a controlled setting where the researcher controls some aspects of the situation

e.g. bringing children into a room and giving them specific toys, then recording how they behave

strengths

greater control

  • researchers can control aspects of the environment and reduce extraneous variables

→ Makes it easier to identify patterns in behaviour

more replicable

  • because the procedure and environment can be standardised, another researcher can repeat the observation

→ Increases reliability

weaknesses

lower ecological validity

  • the controlled setting may be artificial and unlike everyday life

→ participants may behave differently from how they normally would

demand characteristics

  • participants may realise they are being observed or work out what the researcher is studying

→ they may change their behaviour

C O V E R T

participants are being watched without their knowledge and consent

strengths

more natural behaviour

  • because participants don't know they're being observed, they're less likely to change their behaviour

→ greater ecological validity

less demand characteristics

  • participants can't easily guess the aim or deliberately change their behaviour

weaknesses

ethical issues

  • participants cannot give informed consent because they don't know they're taking part

  • it can also raise issues around privacy

difficult to carry out

  • researchers may have to hide their identity or equipment, which can be difficult and may create practical problems

O V E R T

participants are being watched with their knowledge and consent

strengths

ethical

  • participants can give informed consent because they know they are being observed

  • this also means they can understand what they're agreeing to

easier to carry out

  • researchers don't need to secretly observe people or hide the purpose of the observation

weaknesses

demand characteristics

  • participants know they're being observed, so they may change their behaviour

  • this can make the findings less valid

observer effect

  • people may behave differently simply because they know someone is watching them

→ Their behaviour may not be representative of their normal behaviour.

P A R T I C I P A N T

the researcher observes the participants from within the group that they are observing

strengths

greater insight

  • the researcher experiences the situation themselves, so they may understand the participants' behaviour more deeply

can observe behaviour that might otherwise be missed

  • being part of the group can give the researcher access to natural interactions and information that an outsider might not see

weaknesses

researcher may lose objectivity

  • because they're involved, they may become personally involved or biased when recording/interpreting behaviour

difficult to record behaviour

  • the researcher has to participate and observe at the same time, which can make it harder to record everything accurately

N O N - P A R T I C I P A N T S

the researcher observes the participants away from the group that they are observing

strengths

more objective

  • the researcher isn't directly involved in the activity, so they may be less likely to become personally involved or biased

easier to record behaviour

  • they can focus entirely on observing and recording rather than participating

weaknesses

less insight

  • the researcher isn't experiencing the situation themselves, so they may have less understanding of participants' thoughts or experiences

may miss important behaviour

  • some interactions may only happen when the researcher is part of the group, so they could miss them


OBSERVATIONAL DESIGNS

what are they? the different ways researchers organise and record what they see during an observation

  1. behavioural categories

  • researchers divide behaviour into specific categories that can be observed and recorded.

e.g. studying aggression in children:

  • Hitting

  • Kicking

  • Shouting

Why use it? makes observations more objective and systematic.

  1. event sampling

  • researchers count how many times a particular behaviour happens during the observation.

e.g during a 30-minute observation, counting how many times a child:

  • Hits someone = 4

  • Shouts = 7

  • Pushes = 2

every time the behaviour EVENT happens, count it

good for: behaviours that happen relatively frequently

  1. time sampling

  • researchers record behaviour at predetermined time intervals

e.g. every 2 minutes, the researcher records what the child is doing at that exact moment

check at certain TIMES

good for: observations where there is lots of behaviour happening and recording everything would be difficult

inter-observer reilability : is the extent to which two or more observers agree when recording the same behaviour + success rate is 80%