What is Observation? Observation without intervention and With intervention

What is observation?

Observation is one method for collecting research data. An observation is the act of noticing something or a judgment or inference from something seen or experienced.

Methods of Observation

1) Observation without intervention (without interference)

2) Observation with intervention 

What is naturalistic observation? (Observation without intervention)

If researcher wishes to study how subjects normally behave in the given setting they will want to utilize observation without intervention. This type of observation is useful because it allows observer to see how individual acts in natural setting rather than in the more artificial setting or an experiment lab. A natural setting can be defined as  a place in which behaviour ordinarily occurs and then has not been arranged specifically for the purpose of observing behaviour. Naturalistic observation can also be used to verify external validity, permitting researcher to examine whether study finding generalize to real world criteria. Observation without intervention may be either overt or covert.

This technique involves observing subjects in their natural setting without interference.

e.g. to observe how group of people interact with each other in public places.

Advantages	Disadvantages
·         It observes natural behaviour       ·         Validation       ·         Put things in real world view       ·         Allow you to study unethical topics       ·         Deep study	·         Difference of opinions      ·         Difficult to keep it natural      ·         Difficult to keep it a long time

What is participant observation? (Observation with intervention)

Participant observation is a qualitative research method in which the researcher not only observes the research participants, but also actively engages in the activities of the research participants. This requires the researcher to become integrated into the participants' environment while also taking objective notes about what is going on.

e.g. to observe the behaviour of Psychology students the researcher takes part in that subject….or principle observe the teachers….

Why use participant observation?

Participant observation provide researcher with access to different types of information that may not be easily accessible to outsider.

Advantages	Disadvantages
·         you gain much deeper, richer and mor  e accurate information      ·         Validity- produces rich qualitative data which shows picture of how people really live     ·         Flexibility - more flexible and allows for an open mind	· Bias - risk of getting to involved and        therefore giving bias data,   ·    Practical disadvantages - very time consuming  Representatives -small sample sizes as time consuming so hard to generalize from data ethical difficulties - deceiving people to gain info on them is wrong

What is structured observation (Controlled or Systematic)?

Structured observation works according to a plan and involves specific information of the units that are to be observed and also about the information that is to be recorded. The researcher decides where the observation will take place, at what time, with which participant in what circumstances and uses a standardized procedure. Such observations involve the use of especial instruments for the purpose of data collection that are also structured in nature like Behavioral Schedule (recording sheet), observation Guide, check list, picture, field note and other things.

e.g. An auditor performing inventory analysis in store

Advantages	Disadvantages
Produces reliable data as they can be easily replicated by other researchers using fixed categories as the other researcher       ·         Comparing data: allows quantitative data to be produced quickly and easily, counting frequency or duration of events that are observed	·          Lack of validity: Counting frequency, duration or events does not tell us about their meaning.  They are only useful for studying small scale interactions. It is an intensive method to carry out

What is Field experiment?

Field Experiments take place in real-life settings such as a classroom, the work place or even the high street. The experimenter still manipulates the independent variable, but in real-life setting (so cannot really control extraneous variables)

e.g. If you wanted to measure the effectiveness of different teaching methods on educational performance in a school for example, all you would need to do is to get teachers to administer a short test to measure current performance levels, and then get them to change one aspect of their teaching for one class, or for a sample of some pupils, but not for the others, for a period of time (say one term) and then measure and compare the results of all pupils at the end.

Advantages	Disadvantages
Higher mundane realism (Generalization) high in external validity Fewer  demand characteristics	Ethical issues: no consent is given No control over extraneous variables