OBSERVATIONAL METHOD.INTRODUCTION, FEATURES INVOLVED, TYPES OF OBSERVATION, ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES, CONCLUSION.

BY,SUPARNALAXMI PRIYANKAMAHIMAAYESHA

INTRODUCTION POWERFUL TOOL OF PSYCHOLOGICAL ENQUIRY

OBSERVATION IS THE SYSTEMATIC VIEWING OF PEOPLE’S ACTIONS AND RECORDING, ANALYSING AND RECORDING THEIR BEHAVIOUR, SELECTIVELY.

INFORMAL OBSERVATION THAT WE LEARN SINCE CHILDHOOD CANNOT BE CONSIDERED

FEATURES OF OBSERVATION

SELECTIONRECORDINGANALYSIS INTERPRETATION

TYPES OF OBSERVATION

NATURALISTIC CONTROLLEDSTRUCTURED AND

UNSTRUCTUREDPARTICIPANT AND

NONPARTICIPANTFIELD OBSERVATION

NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION

Observing people in their normal environment

Often used in the study of animal behavior

ADVANTAGES Directly observe the subject in a natural setting

Used to generate new ideas

The entire situation can be studied

More insight is gained

DISADVANTAGES Not possible to observe all types of

behavior in a natural settings

Different observers may have different conclusions

Many instances of behavior do not repeat themselves

CONTROLLED OBSERVATION

Carried out in a laboratory

The observer decides where the observation takes place, at what time and under what circumstances

Standardized procedures are used

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES :• Can be easily replicated by other researchers by using

the same observation schedule• Observer can have control over variables• A less time consuming method compared to naturalistic

observation

DISADVANTAGES : • Participants behave differently since they know they are being

observed.

STRUCTURED OBSERVATION

Also called Systematic Observation

Coding scheme is used by researchers

Technique for data collection that has two defining characters

AN EXAMPLE

CARRIES ON WORKING

USES MOBILE PHONE

TALKS TO ANOTHER STUDENT

LISTENS TO MUSIC

LEAVES THE ROOM

READS A MAGAZINE

FALLS ASLEEP

EATS

OBSERVATION CHECKLIST OF A STUDENT WHEN THE TEACHER LEAVES THE ROOM:

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

ADVANTAGES :• Greater control of sampling• Measurement of error• Permits stronger generalization and checks on reliability and validity• Similar to a survey but questions are not asked

DISADVANTAGES :• Language barrier• Cultural barrier• Risks involved• People may behave unnaturally as they know that we are observing

them.

UNSTRUCTURED OBSERVATION

Involves the researchers recording the behavior they can see

Can be difficult without the use of recording equipment

Provide rich qualitative data

For example , observing children playing with new toys

PARTICIPANT AND NON PARTICIPANT

OBSERVATION Non Participant observation involves observing participants without actively participating

Participant observation involves active participation of the observer

Participant observation is again of two types

One where the participants aren’t aware that they are being observed

The other where participants are aware that they are being observed

Strengths and Weaknesses PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION :

Does not rely on attitudes to predict behaviour Can be used to look at behaviour across time The researcher is open to new insights

May lose objectivity and become biased People may not behave naturally If researcher is “undercover” he has to be very covert about his research the researcher may influence what happens

Strengths and Weaknesses

NON PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION :

Participants tend to act more realistically No ethical issues Researcher has no influence over the situation

Observer may not get a feel of what is happening Participants may get to know that they are being observed

CONCLUSION OBSERVATION IS AN IMPORTANT METHOD OF DATA

COLLECTION DIFFERENT TYPES OF OBSERVATION EXIST SCIENTIFIC OBSERVATION IS SYSTEMATIC DELIBERATE AND PURPOSEFUL NEVERTHELESS, HAS LIMITATIONS THAT NEED TO BE

OVERCOME BY COMPLEMENTING WITH OTHER RESEARCH METHODS LIKE INTERVIEWS OF PARTICIPANTS AND USE OF EXPERIMENTS

REFERENCES

www.psychology.about.com www.holah.co.uk/investigations/observation/ www.public.asu.edu/~kroel/www500/observation.pdf https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_psychological_research_methods http://

betterevaluation.org/evaluation-options/nonparticipantobservation

• Beena,C; Parameshwaran, E.G. An Initiative to Psychology.

• McLeod, S. A. (2015). Observation Methods. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/observation.html

• McLeod, S. A. (2007). Psychology Research Methods. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/research-methods.html

THANK YOU.