Background: How do we study primates? Field primatologists face a number of challenges. He or she must locate subjects, habituate them to the presence of an observer without disrupting their natural behavior, and learn to recognize individual animals from amongst a group. Only then can the primatologist begin "data collection" -- making behavioral observations in a systematic way.
 There are two problems: 1) you need to maintain objectivity as an observer and not just watch the most "interesting" animal, and 2) it is impossible to see and record everything, particularly if many primates are together in a group. 
Therefore, all primatologists use SAMPLING techniques to record their data. There are different types of sampling methods primatologists employ. For this assignment, we will use Scan Sampling. Based upon this technique, an animal's observed behaviors are recorded at pre-selected moments in time (e.g., every 30 seconds). Instantaneous or scan sampling is best achieved with a sample interval time as short as possible, and with behaviors that are very easily identified. It is recommended that the observer create a list of possible behaviors, based upon research, prior to beginning their fieldwork. When the observer is well prepared, this is an excellent method for collecting a large amount of data on a group of animals. It is only by collecting data systematically in this way that primatologists can describe and summarize the complex behaviors of primates. Observation sampling lets primatologists measure natural behavior and later address interesting comparative questions, such as:  How do primates spend their time? Do activity patterns vary with age or sex?  Are individuals equal in their social group, or is there a social ranking?  Do males and females compete for mates differently?  Do young animals learn anything while they are playing?  Are the young learning from adult males and females? Assignment: Primatology Term Paper The goal of this assignment is to study humans the way a primatologist works in the field and to help you look at humans from a different perspective. Pretend that you are a primatologist from another planet. You have just arrived on earth, and have taken the physical form of a student. You are amazed by life among college students, and you are sure that it must be different from the lives of other people. But most of your ideas about life off-campus come from either watching TV, or from other strange settings, like the Starbucks or the mall. You begin to ask yourself, what is human behavior really like? Develop a comparative hypothesis about a simple behavioral question, and test it by collecting data on samples of these earthlings. Note: YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND ENGLISH... you will have to interpret human behavior on the basis of what you see people doing, not on what you hear them say. Of course, actions often speak louder than words.
 Here ...

1. Background: How do we study primates?
Field primatologists face a number of challenges. He or she
must locate subjects, habituate them to the
presence of an observer without disrupting their natural
behavior, and learn to recognize individual
animals from amongst a group. Only then can the primatologist
begin "data collection" -- making behavioral
observations in a systematic way. There are two problems: 1)
you need to maintain objectivity as an
observer and not just watch the most "interesting" animal, and
2) it is impossible to see and record
everything, particularly if many primates are together in a
group. Therefore, all primatologists use
SAMPLING techniques to record their data. There are different
types of sampling methods primatologists
employ.
For this assignment, we will use Scan Sampling. Based upon
this technique, an animal's observed
behaviors are recorded at pre-selected moments in time (e.g.,
every 30 seconds). Instantaneous or scan
sampling is best achieved with a sample interval time as short

2. as possible, and with behaviors that are very
easily identified. It is recommended that the observer create a
list of possible behaviors, based upon
research, prior to beginning their fieldwork. When the observer
is well prepared, this is an excellent
method for collecting a large amount of data on a group of
animals.
It is only by collecting data systematically in this way that
primatologists can describe and summarize the
complex behaviors of primates. Observation sampling lets
primatologists measure natural behavior and
later address interesting comparative questions, such as:
with age or sex?
there a
social ranking?
Assignment: Primatology Term Paper
The goal of this assignment is to study humans the way a
primatologist works in the field and to help you
look at humans from a different perspective.
Pretend that you are a primatologist from another planet. You

3. have just arrived on earth, and have taken
the physical form of a student. You are amazed by life among
college students, and you are sure that it must
be different from the lives of other people. But most of your
ideas about life off-campus come from either
watching TV, or from other strange settings, like the Starbucks
or the mall. You begin to ask yourself, what
is human behavior really like?
Develop a comparative hypothesis about a simple behavioral
question, and test it by collecting data on
samples of these earthlings. Note: YOU DO NOT
UNDERSTAND ENGLISH... you will have to interpret human
behavior on the basis of what you see people doing, not on what
you hear them say. Of course, actions often
speak louder than words. Here are some example hypotheses.
You can use one of these, or develop your
own. Pick a narrow question about a common behavior that will
be easy for you to observe. Note that each
of these hypotheses divides humans into two groups to compare
for the purpose of your study.
ople do.

4. football games.
society.
orts
together.
social group through their behavioral
interactions, but it is more difficult to determine the social rank
of females.
actually shopping than older people do.
Once you have chosen a question, design your field study to
sample the human behavior in order to test
your hypothesis. Since your hypothesis is comparative, you will
need to collect two samples of data. For
example, if your hypothesis is "do males and females eat
different types of food" you will need to pick a
study site where students are feeding (e.g. in a dining hall) and
choose a way to systematically observe both
males and females feeding. Make your observations at timed
intervals, using the "scan sampling" method.
Be sure to discuss in your paper how you chose the people in
your study. Your observations should be for
one hour and the time interval is 2 minutes.

5. Summarize your data results and evaluate your hypothesis on
the basis of the data you collected. You
should discuss any patterns you see in the data, and how they
might relate to your original hypothesis. Did
you discover anything about these earthlings that surprised you,
or did your preconception match your
results? Do your results "make sense" to you? Explain your
reasoning.
Evaluate your study. If you had to investigate the same question
again, would you do it the same way, or
would you use a different scientific approach? Why? Was it
difficult to approach humans as "animals" to be
observed? Why? Do you think your results were biased in any
way? Do you think a different primatologist
would have recorded exactly the same observations you did?
Why?
The completed paper must be typed and include:
it is an interesting question, and
describe the methods you used to collect data to evaluate your
hypothesis (where you decided to
collect data, why you chose the location and time for
observations, etc.)
– 1 page): what you leaned from your

6. observations and the benefit of utilizing the
scan sampling technique.
-2 pages): evaluate your
hypothesis in light of your research
findings and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your study
design
handwritten, raw data)
Note: Have fun collecting data and be sure to plan ahead.
Design your study carefully. Try to report your
results in a neat and interesting way, and please pay attention to
details.