OBSERVATIONAL METHODS
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Compare quantitative and qualitative methods
of describing behavior
Describe naturalistic observation and discuss
methodological issues such as participation
and concealment
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Describe systematic observation and discuss
methodological issues such as the use of
equipment, reactivity, reliability, and sampling
Describe the features of a case study
Describe archival research and the sources of
archival data: statistical records, survey
archives, and written records
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Quantitative
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Focuses on specific behaviors that can be easily
quantified
Assigns numerical values to responses and
measure
Uses large samples
Is subject to the data statistical analyses
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Qualitative
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Observational measures
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Focuses on behavior in natural settings
Small groups and limited setting
Describe or capture themes that emerge from the
data
Data are non-numerical and expressed in language
and/or images
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Field Work or Field Observation
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Researchers make observations in a natural setting
over a period of time, using a variety of techniques
to collect information
Used to describe and understand how people in a social
or cultural setting live, work, and experience the setting
 Used to observe people involved with sports teams or
other social settings, at work or animals in their natural
habitat
 Scribner (1997) used naturalistic observations to
identify how business decisions are made
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© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Description and Interpretation of Data
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Techniques include:
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Observing, interviewing, and surveying documents
Goals:
- Describe setting, events, and persons
- Analyze the categories that emerge
- Researcher must interpret what occurred
- Generate hypotheses that help explain the data
- Write a final report of results
- Needs accurate descriptions and objective interpretation
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Issues in Naturalistic Observation
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Participation
Concealment
Identifying the scope of the observation
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Strengths of Naturalistic Observation
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Useful in complex and novel settings
Limitations of Naturalistic Observation
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Cannot be used to study all issues
Less useful when studying well-defined hypotheses under
precisely specific conditions
Must constantly reanalyze and revise hypotheses
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Systematic observations: careful observation of
specific behaviors in a particular setting
Coding Systems
Methodological Issues
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Equipment
Reactivity
Reliability
Sampling
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Provides a Description of an Individual
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Psychobiography – a type of case study in which a
researcher applies psychological theory to explain
the life of an individual
Valuable in Informing Us of Conditions that
are Rare or Unusual
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Archival research involves using previously
compiled information to answer research
questions
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Statistical Records
Survey Archives
Written and Mass Communication Records
Use of the General Social Survey (GSS)
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Content Analysis of Documents
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Systematic analysis of existing documents
Requires coding system
Can address questions that can be addressed in no
other ways
Limitations
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Difficult to obtain
Cannot be sure of accuracy
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.