Collecting Primary Data Through ObservationPresented By:Rahma Chishtie - 16169Tayyab Qamar – 15962Shehryar Sheikh - 16955

Observation as a data collection method

‘Observation involves the systematic observation , recording, description analysis and interpretation of people’s behaviour’

Saunders et al. (2009)

Types of Observation

Participant observation – emphasises the discovery of meaning attached to actions (qualitative)

Structured observation – is concerned with frequency of actions (quantitative)

Participant Observation

Participant Observation

Where the researcher attempts to participate fully in the lives and actions of subjects, enabling them to not merely observe what is happening but also feeling it

It is different from data collection by means of questionnaire, where you probably will know little of the context in which the respondents’ comments are set.

Researcher/Participant Roles Categorization

Participant As

observer

Complete Participan

t

Observer as

Participant

Complete Observer

Researcher takes part in activity

Researcher observes activity

Researcher’s identity is concealed

Researcher’s identity is revealed

Determining Factors

The purpose of your research

The time you have to devote to your research

The degree to which you feel suited to participant observation

Organizational access

Ethical considerations

Types of Data Generated

Primary Observations are those where you would note what happened or what was said at the

time. Keeping a diary is a good way of doing this.

Secondary Observations are statements by observers of what happened or was said. This necessarily

involves those observers’ interpretations.

Experiential Observations are those data on your perceptions and feelings as you experience the process you

are researching.

Data Collection & Analysis

Collection Ask questions

Of informants to clarify situations that you have observed. Of yourself to clarify situation and the accounts given of the situation.

Descriptive observation In descriptive observation you may concentrate on observing the physical setting,

the key participants and their activities, particular events and their sequence and the attendant processes and emotions involved.

Narrative account The descriptive observation becomes the basis for your writing of a narrative account

Analysis Analytic Induction

Threats to Reliability and Validity

Very High on ecological Validity

Observer Bias

Advantages Disadvantages• It is good at explaining ‘what is going on’in particular social situations

• It can be very time consuming

• It heightens the researcher’s awareness ofsignificant social processes

It can pose difficult ethical dilemmas forthe researcher

• It is particularly useful for researchersworking within their own organizations

• There can be high levels of role conflict forthe researcher (e.g. ‘colleague’ versusresearcher)

• Some participant observation affords theopportunity for the researcher to theexperience ‘for real’ the emotions ofthose who are being researched

• The closeness of the researcher to thesituation being observed can lead tosignificant observer bias

• Virtually all data collected are useful • The participant observer role is a verydemanding one, to which not all researcherswill be suited

• Access to organizations may be difficult

• Data recording is often very difficult for theResearcher

Structured Observation

Structured Observation

Structured observation (also known as systemic observation) is a data collecting method in which researchers gather data without direct involvement with the participants (the researchers watch from afar) and the collection technique is structured in a well defined and procedural manner.

Using coding schedules to collect data

One of the key decisions you will need to make before undertaking structured observation is whether you use an ‘off-the-shelf’ coding schedule or design your own. This should totally depend on your research questions and objectives. What follows are two sets of guidelines for assessing the suitability of existing tailor-made coding schedules

Structured observation: Data collection and Analysis

Structured observation: Data collection and Analysis

Choosing an ‘off-the-shelf’ coding schedule:One of the most frequent uses of established coding schedules in management and

business is for recording interpersonal interactions in social situations such as meetings or negotiations. This lends itself to structured observation particularly well.

Not only will it save you a lot of time, but it will be tried and tested. Therefore, it is likely to make your results and conclusions more reliable and valid.

However, we may decide that no ‘off-the-shelf’ coding schedule is suitable for your purposes, then in that case, we will need to develop your own schedule based on the following sets of attributes.

1) Focused Do not observe and record all that is going on. Concern yourself only with what is strictly relevant

2) Unambiguous Therefore requiring the absolute minimum of observer interpretation

3) Non-context dependent The observer’s job is more difficult if the coding of behaviors is dependent on the context in which the behavior occurs. It may be essential for your research question(s) and objectives to record contextual data, but this should be kept to a minimum

4) Explicitly defined Provide examples for the observer (even if this is you) of behaviors that fall into each category and those that do not

5) Exhaustive Ensure that it is always possible to make a coding for those behaviours you wish to observe

6) Mutually exclusive Ensure that there is no overlap between behavior categories

7) Easy to record The observer must be able to tick the correct box quickly without having to memorize appropriate categories

Choosing an alternative coding schedule:

The main threats here are ones to reliability. This section deals with three of these, subject error, time error and observer effects.

1) Subject error:

Subject error may cause your data to be unreliable. You may be concerned with observing the output of sales administrators as measured by the amount of orders they process in a day. Subject error may be evident if you chose administrators in a section that was short-staffed owing to illness. The message here is clear: choose subjects who in as many respects as possible are ‘normal’ examples of the population under study.

2) Time error:

Closely related to the issue of subject error is that of time error. It is essential that the time at which you conduct the observation does not provide data that are untypical of the total time period in which you are interested.

Threats to validity and reliability:

3) Observer effect:

One of the most powerful threats to the validity and reliability of data collected through observation is that of observer effect. This is quite simply that the process of the observer’s observation of behaviour changes the nature of that behaviour owing to the fact that the subject is conscious of being observed. The simplest way to overcome this effect is for the observation to take place in secret. However, this is often not possible even if it were ethically acceptable.

Threats to validity and reliability:

Advantages Disadvantages• It can be used by anyone after suitable training in the use of the measuring instrument. In addition, structured observation may be carried out simultaneously in different locations. This would present the opportunity of comparison between locations.

• The observer must be in the research setting when the phenomena under study are takingplace.

• It should yield highly reliable results by virtue of its replicability.

• Research results are limited to overt action or surface indicators from which the observermust make inferences.

• Structured observation is capable of more than simply observing the frequency of events. It is also possible to record the relationship between events.

• Data are slow and expensive to collect.

• The method allows the collection of data at the time they occur in their natural setting.

• Structured observation secures information that most participants would ignore because tothem it was too mundane or irrelevant.