OBSERVATION
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şehnaz Şahinkarakaş
Researcher’s Journal
• Whatever method you use, try to keep a researcher’s journal
• Writing notes as a diary, journal, memos…
• Contains
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•
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personal record of insights
beginning understandings
feelings
recurring words/phrases, ideas, questions…
• Try to keep it throughout the study
• Make it as detailed as possible.
OBSERVATION
• For some studies, observation is the best technique as we can
observe how people act and how things look.
• There are mainly 2 different roles of the researcher in
observation:
• Nonparticipant observation
• Participant observation
Nonparticipant Observation
• Researchers are not directly involved in the activity but “sit on
the sidelines” or they have limited interaction with the people
they observe.
• Some observational data can even be collected unobstrusively
(a teacher together with the students even in the break times
can be an indicator of relationship between that teacher and
the students)
The roles of nonparticipant observer
• Observer-as-participant: identifies herself but does not
participate in activities.
• E.g.: If you want to see what goes on in a school, you can
interview with teachers, students, administrators, or visit
classes, attend meetings but you do not participate in the
activities.
• Complete observer: opposite of complete participant. H/She
observes the activities without participating in anything. Her
identity may or may not be known.
• E.g.: Observing the activities in the school yard.
Participant Observation
• Affected from early ethnographers
• A participant observer
• Attempts to enter the lives of others
• Suspends as much as possible his/her own ways of viewing the
world
• In general, s/he asks questions such as:
• What is happening here?
• What is important in the lives of people here?
• How would they describe their lives and what is the language
they would use to do it?
The roles of participant observer
• Complete participant (covert): the researcher interacts with
the members naturally throughout the study but his/her
identity is not known to others.
• E.g. Working as a teacher for a year and not informing the others
that s/he is there to do research
• Participant-as-observer (overt): S/He fully participates in the
activities but his/her identity is known to the others.
• E.g. Working as a teacher for a year but informing the others
(teachers and students) that s/he is doing research.
• Ethical Issues:
• Observing people without their knowledge!
• What do you think about this?
Being There
• The challenge to the qualitative researcher of being there:
becoming invisible as a researcher
• The researcher’s presence might be reacted to by the
participants
• But his/her unobstrusive presence can minimize this.
• Then how much should we participate?
• It depends!
• «The challenge is to combine participation and observation so
as to become capable of understanding the program as an
insider while describing the program for outsiders» (Patton,
cited in Maykut and Morehouse, 1994, p. 67).
INSTRUMENTS TO BE USED FOR
OBSERVATION
• Many forms are available for observation.
• Forms should be used on a trial basis before the actual data
collection.
• Possible problem: recording/writing too many things
(watching too many children)
General Observation Scheme
• Environment of the Classroom:
• 1. The classroom is on the _____ floor of the school building.
• 2. The classroom is near
• ( ) residential area
• ( ) road(s)
( ) factories
( ) other
• 3. Condition of lighting during the lesson:
• ( ) bright
( ) dim
( ) dark
• 4. Environments for listening
• ( ) very quiet
( )occasional noise
( ) noisy
Classroom Observation Scheme
Instances per 10-min
intervals
Sources of feedback
Notes
Other feedback sources:
Instructor
Student
Other
Type of feedback
Recast
Repetition
Nonverbal cue
Other
Other examples of
feedback types
Classroom Performance Checklist
2
Speaking
Uses complete sentences
Asks for help
Answers questions
Participates in conversations
Stays on topic
Restates ideas
Understands what is being said
Gets along with others
1
0
Behavior Rating Scale
ADULT BEHAVIOR SCALE
BEHAVIOR: Circle the
number which best
describes behavior over
last 6 months
Never
or Rarely
Occas.
Often
Very
Often
1
Trouble wrapping up the
final details of a project,
when challenging part
finished?
1
2
3
4
2
Trouble getting things in
order, when doing a task
that requires organization?
1
2
3
4
3
Problems remembering
appointments or
obligations?
1
2
3
4
• Problems of this rating scale:
• Occasional, often and very often should be described as they
might mean different to different observers.
Observing one child (a)
Considerations
Does the child with the disability
have access to the materials?
Does the child use a variety of
materials within the classroom?
Does the child with the disability
need support equipment?
Is that equipment accessible?
Is that equipment present?
Does, or would, the needed
support equipment interfere with
interactions with either people or
materials?
Yes or No
Comments
Observing one child (b)
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Name of child: ______________________________
Birth date/age: ______________________________
Date of observation: ______________________________
The place the child is observed: __________________________
Classroom teacher: ______________________________
Time/day to check back with the teacher:
______________________________
• Purpose of Observation:
• Notes:
•
•
• Recommendations/follow-up:
Tally Sheets
• Used to record the frequency of student behavior, activities,
remarks, etc.
• Activities, behaviors… are listed on a piece of paper
• Every time the activity, behavior… is observed, the researcher
places a tally in the appropriate category
Sample Tally Sheet
Types of Pupil Behavior
Observed Behavior
Frequency
Writing
////
Reading
//
No Activity
///
Talking to another pupil
///// ///// ////
Talking to the teacher
///// //
Disruptive Behavior
Flow Charts
• Good in analyzing group/class discussions.
• The number and the direction of student remarks can be
charted using different ways.
• A seating chart with student names is needed.
• Every time a student makes a verbal comment, a tally is placed
in his/her box.
Sample flow chart
Interactions within a group
Orkun
/
Altan
//
////
//
///
Seyda
Yasemin
//
//
Ilker
//
Metin
Anecdotal Records
• A record of observed behaviors are written down in the form
of anecdotes.
• No set format: any behavior thought to be important is noted
down.
• Should be as specific and as factual as possible
• Four types of anecdotes
• 1. Evaluative statements: judging behavior as good or bad
(should be avoided):
• Julios talked loud and much during poetry; wanted to do and say
just what he wanted and didn’t consider the right working out of
things. Had to ask him to sit by me. Showed a bad attitude about
it.
• 2. Interpretive statements: making judgment on the basis of a
single fact (should be avoided)
• For the last week Sammy has been a perfect wiggle-tail. He is
growing so fast he cannot be settled. … of course the inward
change that is taking place causes the restlessness
• 3. Generalized statements: describing certain behaviors in
general terms (should be avoided)
• Sammy is awfully restless these days. He is whispering most of
the time he is not kept busy. In the circle, during various
discussions, even though he is interested, his arms are moving or
he is punching the one sitting next to him. He smiles when I speak
to him.
• 4. specific/ concrete descriptive statements: telling exactly
what the child did (desired type)
• The weather was so bitterly cold that we did not go on the
playground today. The children played games in the room during
the regular recess period. Andrew and Larry chose sides for a
game which is known as stealing the bacon. I was talking to a
group of children in the front of the room while the choosing was
in process and in a moment I heard a loud altercation. Larry said
that all the children wanted to be on Andrew’s side rather than
on his. Andrew remarked: “I can’t help it if they all want to be on
my side.”
Sociometric Devices
• It asks individuals to rate their peers in some way.
• Mostly used instrument is sociogram: a visual representation
of the choices people make
Sample: Sociogram
(interaction)
Accepting to do an activity together:
Refusing to do an activity together: ……
One-way interaction:
Two-way interaction: ---|---
Field Notes
• Contain what has been seen and heard without
interpretation!
• i.e. Record what happened without judgement
• --feelings to the participants (e.g. Patty looked bored)
• --why or how something happened (e.g. I think Jeff is trying to
impress Patty)
• Your comments must be clearly set off from observations:
• You can write them in brackets
• You can use initials like OC (Observer’s Comments)
How to write field notes!
• Write during (if possible) or immediately after you leave the field
• Begin by jotting down bits of information
• Something you observed
• Something someone said
• Something that happened
• Draw a diagram of the physical layout (if possible)
• Organize your notes in a complete narrative:
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Describe people’s actions and interactions
Note outside intrusions (alarm going off, phone call)
Record verbatim words using quotation marks
No quotations for paraphrased ones
Set off your comments (brackets or OC)
Note the time when needed
Exercise
• Think about a setting
• Prepare a focus of inquiry statement (e.g. I would like to
understand how ……..)
• Allow yourself about half an hour
• Write down as closely as possible what people said
• Record exact words and statements that you remember
• Draw a detailed diagram of the setting
• Develop a descriptive account of what happened in the setting
while you were there
• the people you saw and heard
• what happened and when
• Add OC
Exercise (Follow-up)
• Reread your field notes, guided by these questions:
• What is important here?
• What is it that I need to find out more about?
• What would I want to focus on more closely if I returned to this
setting?
• Evaluate your experience as a participant observer:
• Were you able to separate description from interpretation?
• Could someone reading your notes gain some understanding of
what was happening in the class?
• How accurately were you able to recall the physical setting,
events, and conversations? What strategies aided your recall? (for
notes taken after observation)
• What will you do differently the next time you are in the field?