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13-2McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.,All Rights

Reserved.

Part ThreeSOURCES AND

COLLECTION OF DATA

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Chapter ThirteenOBSERVATIONAL STUDIES

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Observation

• Nonbehavioral observation

• Behavioral observation

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Observation

Nonbehavioral observation

• Record analysis

• Physical condition analysis

• Process or activity analysis

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Observation

Behavioral observation

• Nonverbal analysis

• Linguistic analysis

• Extralinguistic analysis

• Spatial analysis

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Advantages of the Observational Method

• Collect the original data at the time it occurs

• Secure information that participants would ignore because it’s so common it is not seen as relevant

• Only method available to collect certain types of data

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Advantages of the Observational Method (cont.)

• Capture the whole event as it occurs in its natural environment

• Participants seem to accept an observational intrusion better than they respond to questioning

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Limitations of the Observational Method

• Observer or recording equipment must be at the scene of the event when it takes place

• Slow process• Expensive process• Most reliable results are restricted to

information that can be learned by overt action or surface indicators

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Limitations of the Observational Method (cont.)

• Research environment is more likely suited to subjective assessment and recording of data than to quantification of events

• Limited as a way to learn about the past

• Cannot observe rationale for actions, only actions themselves

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Relationship between Observer and Participant

• Direct or indirect observation

• Observer’s presence known or unknown to the participant

• Observer is involved or not involved with the participant

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Observation Methods

• Direct

• Indirect

• Participant

• Simple

• Systematic

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Guidelines for Selecting Observers

• Ability to concentrate in a setting full of distractions

• Ability to remember details of an experience

• Ability to be unobtrusive in the observational situation

• Ability to extract the most from an observational study

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Observation Data Collection

• Who

• What– Event Sampling– Time Sampling

• When

• How

• Where