Part Three SOURCES AND COLLECTION OF DATA McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2003 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.,All Rights Reserved.

Chapter Thirteen OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES

Observation Nonbehavioral observation Behavioral observation

Observation Nonbehavioral observation Record analysis Physical condition analysis Process or activity analysis

Observation Behavioral observation Nonverbal analysis Linguistic analysis Extralinguistic analysis Spatial analysis

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

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

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

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

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

Observation Methods Direct Indirect Participant Simple Systematic

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

Observation Data Collection Who What Event Sampling Time Sampling When How Where