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Nonexperimental Methods
n Naturalistic Observation
n Systematic Observation
n Case Studies
n Archival Research
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Naturalistic Observation
n Observations made in a natural setting
n Record of naturally occurring behavior
n Record usually takes narrative form
n Observer describes and interprets observed behavior as well as
situation and environment
n Goal: Accurate / “Complete” discription
n Ex:
– Diane Fossey -- mountain gorillas
– Jane Goodall -- chimpanzees
– Anthony Hopkins in Instinct
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Techniques
n Participant Observation
– (often used in Cultural Anthropology)
– Observer becomes a member of group under study
• Concealed or unconcealed
– Interact as member of the group
– Advantages
• Insights not otherwise available
• Can question/create situations
• Feeling of being group member
– Disadvantages
• Influence / influenced by group
• Maintain objectivity?
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Techniques
n Unobtrusive Observations
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(often used in Animal Behavior)
Observe with little or no contact with participants
Observer may even conceal self/observations
Advantages:
• Minimize subject reactivity
– Change in behavior -- know being observed
• More likely to observe natural behavior
• Better chance of remaining objective
– Disadvantages
• Little or no control over situation
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Limitations / Potential Problems
n (Both Participant Obs and Unobtrusive Obs)
n Limit to types of questions that can be answered
n Qualitative rather than Quantitative data
n Complex situations -- ability to capture all of it
n Subject reactivity -- not observing natural behavior
n Objectivity of observer
– Confirmation bias
– Expectations may affect observations
– Differences among observers
n Ethics?
– Specifically with concealed observations
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Systematic Observation
n Careful observation of one or more specific behaviors in a
setting
– Focus on specific behaviors
– Attempt to quantify behavior
– Maximize objectivity
n Use Coding System / Coding Scheme
– Method to interpret / record behavior
– Minimize “observer” influence
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Coding System
n Behavioral Categories
– Operational Definitions of Behaviors
– Description/criteria of specific behaviors (identifying
characteristics)
– Pretested to find ambiguities
– Observers trained to recognize consistently
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Coding System
n Method of Quantification
– Frequency Method
• Count of behaviors in given time period
– Duration Method
• Length of time on each behavior
• Ex: toys & hormones study
• Ex: parking lot study
– Intervals Method
• Divide time into discrete units
• Record (main) behavior within time unit
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Goal:
n Should produce reliable data
– Consistency between observers
n Data independent of who made observations
– Verifiable / Objective
n Can test using interrater reliability
– Correlation between two observers records (data)
• Observing same behavior
• Using same coding scheme
• Data should be (nearly) identical (~.85 correlation)
– Ex: Parking Lot study
• 25 common observations:
• Compared ratings of time, car value, gender, race
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• Correlations: .95 - 1.00
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Limitations / Potential Problems
n Most: Same as Naturalistic Observation:
n Limit to types of questions that can be answered
n Qualitative rather than Quantitative data (not a problem)
n Complex situations -- ability to capture all of it
n Subject reactivity -- not observing natural behavior
n Objectivity of observer (not a problem)
– Confirmation bias
– Expectations may affect observations
– Differences among observers
n Ethics
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