Identify describe and evaluate naturalistic observations Identify describe

Identify, describe and evaluate naturalistic observations Identify, describe and evaluate structured observations Evaluation to: reliability, validity and ethical issues Child psychology: How science works

Observation If you make listening and observation your occupation you will gain much more than you can by talk. Robert Baden Powell There is no more difficult art to acquire than the art of observation, and for some men it is quite as difficult to record an observation in brief and plain language. William Osler “Observation is the most penetrating of strategies, the most close and telling mode of gathering information” Lofland (1971):

Sometimes used in experiments to measure the DV, e. g. Bandura et al (1961) As a research method in its own right, no manipulated variable; usually little control; observers collect data without meddling! observers record free-flowing, unconstrained behavior sometimes with and sometimes without the Pps knowledge When do psychologists use observation?

Naturalistic Observation People observed are in their everyday (natural) setting, e. g. aggression in school playground with no controlled variables Advantages: Behaviour is naturally occurring and unrestrained; not distorted by demand characteristics; more ecologically valid Behavior unaffected by anxiety or a need to impress Includes the full context of the behavior; rich source of information; speech, actions, interaction, body language etc. Useful when manipulation maybe unethical or Pps cannot cooperate Disadvantages: less control over extraneous variables observer training costly & lengthy can’t use equipment which difficult to transport, observer may have trouble remaining hidden (affects validity) if coding system too rigid, may not record interesting and relevant behavior

Structured/controlled observation A controlled artificial situation is set up and Pp are observed within the setting, e. g. Ainsworth and Bell’s Strange Situation • No IV manipulation • Not many examples of this type of research; usually several observation take place with slight alterations to the setting; behaviour is then compared, making it an experiment! •

List 5 studies where psychologist have used observation either as part of an experiment or in a naturally occurring setting. Think!

The extent to which …. the setting is a natural environment or structured the observational data is qualitative or quantitative the observer is engaged with those being observed Varieties of Observational Study

Participant Observation Observer is involved with those being observed as part of the group; they might infiltrate a group or study a group they already belong to Example: William Foote Whyte, (1955): Street Corner Society, seminal study of an Italian neighbourhood in USA: 'the social structure of an Italian slum'. Example: Rosenhan, (1973) – observers became pseudo patients in a psychiatric ward (detained between 7 -52 days, given 2100 pills) Ethics: must recognize that observer’s presence might affect participant behaviour, things might be said, which would normally never be said to researcherneed to obtain consent for disclosure Problems: objectivity might be impaired, problems taking notes (rely on memory), researcher the only witness

Evaluating Pp Observation Advantages High ecological validity; behaviour not affected in same way as it would be in a non-participant observation Highly rich source of information; access to information likely to be much greater Disadvantages Once involved in the situation it may be difficult to be objective May become distracted from observation due to role taken within the group (as with Zimbardo, 1973) Reliability hard to assess as quality of data obtained relies upon the relationships that the individual is able to form with the group members

Non-participant observations The observer is not part of the group The Pps may know they are being observed (overt) or not (covert) Advantages: More objective and impartial than Pp observation Easier to make records than Pp observation; records are likely therefore to be more accurate (valid) Easier to be systematic; more organised (e. g. time/event sampling)

Non-participant observations Disadvantages Observer's presence is likely to affect the validity of the behaviour observed Non-Pp observer may not fully understand what they are seeing and may not be able to create a valid observation schedule with which to record accurate and valid data; this is in contrast to a Pp ob where this less likely to happen

Covert and overt observation Issues for consideration Validity Ethics (privacy, informed consent, distress, right to withdraw) Practicality

Recording observational data Watch the clip and think about what practical problems might arise when trying to observe the children’s behaviour How would you record some qualitative data? What quantitative data could be recorded and how?

Data gathering devices Film or video recording Still camera Audio tape (spoken observation) Hand-written notes, ratings or coding on the spot Visual recordings can be analysed later and in researchers own time, can view repeatedly to increase understanding Any methods can be used discreetly (note! ethical issues!) e. g. one-way mirrors

Systematic Quantitative Observation A form of structured observation which aims to record and categorize behaviour as accurately and with as much agreement as possible. Data is recorded using a observation schedule (behaviour checklist) e. g. tally the frequency of specific behaviours, duration of a specific behaviour or rate a participant using some form of structured scale 1 -10 Pp A B Hit/shove: force, unprovoked Hit / shove: forcefollowing peer Hit/shove forceretaliation Shouts– unprovoked Shouts following peer Shouts retaliation

Behavior Checklist/Coding Designing a good observation schedule Can be adapted from other studies or made up new It should be: 1. Objective 2. Cover all possible behaviors, avoid a ‘catch all category’; 3. Have no overlapping categories A pilot study is vital to designing an effective observation schedule; to operationalise and finalize the behaviours that will be observed

Data Sampling When observation has lasted for hours, would be too time consuming to code it all, hence researchers take a sample from the data. Time sampling: observing for a specific time (e. g. 15 min outs of every hour) Point sampling: observing what participants are doing at particular point in time (e. g. every 5 minutes) observe one long enough to record a category of behavior before moving to the next person Event sampling: concentrating on specific types of event each time they occur (fight, smile etc. )

Qualitative non-participant observation Can be done by producing a running commentary about the observed behaviour by speaking into a tape recorder Generates a lot of raw data in qualitative form, but rigid structure imposed during analysis by independent raters trained in a specific coding scheme that reduces qualitative data into frequencies of occurrence. Qualitative data may also be left as it is and presented alongside quantitative data for illustration purposes or provide new insights (e. g. Milgram) Sorts of observations made may change during the course of the observation

Diary Method Diaries are kept during most participant observation studies (e. g. Piaget) Where observation is covert, these will be constructed at the end of each day, from memory or from discreetly jotted notes recorded where opportunities have arisen, (e. g. Sherif Robber’s Cave) Participants could also be asked to keep their own diaries, which will be later subjected to content analysis by the observer.

Role play and Simulation Participants role-play a situation which is observed e. g. being a prisoner or guard in Zimbardo’s (1972) prison study.

Reliability is reliable if the Checking interfindings are consistent observer reliability This can be checked by having two people observe 109 the same behaviour and 8 seeing whether they make 7 6 the same records (inter 5 observer reliability) 4 3 There should be a 2 correlation between the 1 data they have each 0 0 2 4 6 gathered Observer 1 More likely when behaviour categories are clearly defined (operationalised) and observers have received adequate training Observer 2 Something 8

Validity high on reality, behavior genuine however if participants aware, behaviour can be affected: Hawthorne effects depend on Pp reactivity Example: mothers interacted more with children, became more warm and patient. Reactivity can be reduced by repeating observations; observer becomes familiar, part of the furniture, behaviour becomes more natural; enhances internal validity. Hidden cameras and one way mirrors: ethical problems Observations can be reductionist; behaviour is reduced to meaningless frequencies; social context of behaviour lost unless very carefully designed observation schedule