3. OBSERVATION
• Structured observation
• Critical incidents
• Naturalistic and participant observation
• Natural and artificial settings for observation
• Ethical considerations
• Some cautionary comments
4. What is Observation?
• involves observing behavior and systematically recording the
results of those observations
• Data are analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative data
analysis methods.
• observation offers an investigator the opportunity to gather
“live” data from naturally occurring social situation.
• Immediate awareness or direct cognition has a potential to yield
more valid and authentic data than inferential methods.
• Observation could be: Facts, Events, and Behaviors or qualities.
5. What are Observational Data?
• sensitive to contexts and demonstrate strong ecological validity
(Moyles 2002).
• enables researchers to understand the context of programs, to
be open-ended and inductive, to see things that might otherwise
be unconsciously missed, to discover things that participants
might not freely talk about in interview situations, to move
beyond perception-based data and to access personal
knowledge.
• These could be very useful for recording non-verbal behavior,
behavior in natural or contrived settings, and longitudinal
analysis (Bailey 1994:244).
6. Kinds of Observations
• Highly Structure observation – will know in advance what
it is looking for (i.e. pre-ordinate observation) and will
have its observation categories worked out in advance.
• Semi-Structured observation – will have an agenda of
issues but will gather data to illuminate these issues in a
far less predetermined or systematic manner.
• Unstructured observation – will be far less clear on what
it is looking for and will therefore have to go into situation
and observe what is taking place before deciding on its
significance for the research.
8. Structured Observation
• is very systematic and enables the researcher to
generate numerical data from the observations.
• Numerical data facilitate the making of comparisons
between settings and situations, and frequencies,
patterns and trends to be noted or calculated.
• The observer adopts a passive, non-intrusive role,
merely noting down the incidence of the factors being
studied. Observational schedule is where observations
are entered.
9. Key Principles that should be addressed in Structure
Observation (Dyer 1995)
• The choice of the environment where in there
will be opportunities for the behavior to be
observed to be actually occurring.
• The need for clear and unambiguous measures,
particularly if a latent characteristic or construct
is being operationalized.
• A manageable number of variables: a sufficient
number for validity to be demonstrated, yet not
so many as to render data entry unreliable.
10. Key Principles that should be addressed in Structure
Observation (Dyer 1995) Con’t…
• Overt or covert observation.
• Continuous, time-series or random observation.
• The different categories or behavior to be
observed.
• The number of people to be observed.
• The number of variables on which data must be
gathered.
• The kind of observation schedule to be used.
11. Five Principal Ways of Entering data onto a structured
observation schedule
•Event Sampling
•Instantaneous Sampling
•Interval Recording
Whole interval recording
Partial interval recording
•Rating Scales
•Duration Recording
12. Critical Incidents
Critical incidents and critical events –
are particular events or occurrences that
might typify or illuminate very starkly a particular
feature of a teacher’s behavior or teaching style
for example.
13. Naturalistic and Participant Observation
Degrees of participation in observation
•Complete Participant
•Participant-as-observer
•Observer-as-participant
•Complete observer
14. Natural and Artificial Settings for Observation
Observational setting could be from structured to
unstructured or natural to artificial.
Structured settings may be useful in testing
hypotheses while unstructured settings may be
useful for generating hypotheses.
Note: “whatever setting the researcher wish to have
still depends on the purpose of his/her research”
15. Natural and Artificial Settings for Observation
Natural setting Artificial setting
Structured
Unstructured
Structured field
studies
Completely
unstructured field
study
Completely structured
laboratory
Unstructured
laboratory
16. Ethical Considerations
The researcher has inescapable moral
obligations to consider and, while codes
of ethical conduct abound, each case
might have to be judged on its own
merits. Moreover, researchers truly
inhabit the world that they are
searching and their influence may not
be neutral.
17. Some Cautionary Comments
Selective attention of the observer.
Reactivity
Attention deficit
Validity of constructs
Selective data entry
Selective memory
Interpersonal matters and counter-transference
Expectancy effects
Decisions on how to record
Number of observers
The problem of inference
18. • Validity of the observations – researchers
have to ensure that the indicators of the
construct under investigation are fair and
operationalized. Expectancy effects can be
overcome by ensuring that the observers do
not know the purpose of the research, the
double-blind approach.
• Reliability of the observations – the
indicators have to be applied fully,
consistently and securely, with no variation
interpretation. Not only is this a matter for
one observer – consistency in his or her
observation and recording – but also it is a
matter if there are several observers.
Event Sampling – also known as sign system. Requires a tally mark to be entered against each statement each time it is observed. It is very useful for finding out the frequencies or incidence of observed situations or behaviors so that comparisons will be made. However, they are unable to determine the chronological order in which they occurred.
Instantaneous Sampling – sometimes called time sampling. It is used when the researcher wanted to know the chronology of events. With the set interval the researcher will record what is happening at that precise moment and enters it into the appropriate category on the schedule. (ex: every minute)
Interval Recording – charts the chronology of events to some extent and, like instantaneous sampling, requires the data to be entered in the appropriate category at fixed intervals. However, instead of charting what is happening on the instant, it charts what has happened during the preceding interval.
Whole interval recording – behavior is recorded only if it lasts for the whole of the interval
Partial interval recording – behavior is recorded if it occupies only a part of the interval in question. The researcher will need to specify how to record this.
Rating Scales – the researcher is asked to make some judgment about the events being observed, and to enter responses into a rating scale.
Duration Recording – the observation is driven by the event, not the frequency of the observation. This means that the observer needs to structure the recording schedule to indicate the total duration of a single continuous behavior.
Degrees of participation in observation
Complete Participant – researcher who takes on an insider role in the group being studied, and maybe who does not even declare that he or she is a researcher
Participant-as-observer – part of the social life of participants and documents and records what is happening for research purposes
Observer-as-participant – known as a researcher to the group, and maybe has less extensive contact with the group
Complete observer – participants do not realize that they are being observed thus this is another form or covert research
Degrees of participation in observation
Complete Participant – researcher who takes on an insider role in the group being studied, and maybe who does not even declare that he or she is a researcher
Participant-as-observer – part of the social life of participants and documents and records what is happening for research purposes
Observer-as-participant – known as a researcher to the group, and maybe has less extensive contact with the group
Complete observer – participants do not realize that they are being observed thus this is another form or covert research
Degrees of participation in observation
Complete Participant – researcher who takes on an insider role in the group being studied, and maybe who does not even declare that he or she is a researcher
Participant-as-observer – part of the social life of participants and documents and records what is happening for research purposes
Observer-as-participant – known as a researcher to the group, and maybe has less extensive contact with the group
Complete observer – participants do not realize that they are being observed thus this is another form or covert research
