Psychological Factors u Attention - Focusing on specific behaviors to observe. u Sensation - Using senses to focus u Perception - Meaning of information from observation. u Conception - Differentiating characteristics of the information from observation.

Obstacles to Observation u Previously acquired knowledge u Anticipation u Strong personal interest u Preconceptions

Sources of Distortion u Emotions u Prejudices u Motivations u Mental sets u Sense of values u Physical condition u Errors of inference

Steps for Systematic Observation u Select aspect of behavior to be observed. u Define specific behaviors which fall within this aspect of behavior. u Train observers for uniformity and standardization. u Quantify observations using standard method. u Develop procedures to facilitate recording.

Additional Aids for Observation u Electronic recording u Checklists u Observation guides

Semantic Differential

D A method of observing and measuring the psychological meaning of words, usually concepts.

Semantic Differential Steps D Choose the concepts or other stimuli that are to be rated with bipolar objectives. D Select appropriate scales or adjective pairs. This selection is determined by (1) factor representatives and (2) concept relevance.

Semantic Differential Example School Good______________Bad Unfair______________Fair Clean______________Dirty Slow______________Fast Sharp______________Dull Active______________Passive

Conference

v Face-to-face discussion, usually around a table, with personalities a strong factor in determining consensus

Conference Steps v Experts are brought together at a common site. v Ideas are brainstormed to generate as many ideas on the problem as possible (Rule - no negative reactions to any suggestions.) v Evaluate and rate the suggestions v Determine the most popular responses (arbitrary number chosen on the basis of natural breaks or logic). v Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the top suggestions and rank order.

Delphi Studies James P. Key

Delphi Study u Multiple questionnaire method of arriving at expert consensus without face-to- face discussion.

Delphi Steps u Open ended questionnaire is mailed to respondents who remain anonymous to each other. u The first questionnaire generates a laundry list of ideas which the researcher records. u The second questionnaire is a list of unduplicated ideas from the first survey and asks the respondents to rate the ideas on a scale of importance.

Delphi Steps u The researcher determines the mean and relative rank for each idea. u The list of ideas along with their relative ranks are returned to the respondents as the third questionnaire. They are asked to revise their rating based on the group rating or defend their position. u The fourth questionnaire includes the idea list, ratings, consensus and minority opinions. It provides the final chance for revision of opinions.

Delphi Advantages u It allows planners to get the views in a broad perspective rather than from an isolated point of view. u It is a potent device for teaching people to think about education in complex ways.

Delphi Advantages u It is a useful instrument even for a general teaching strategy. u It is a planning tool which may aid in probing priorities held by members and constituencies of an organization. u It saves time and travel which are required to bring people together for a conference. u It prevents personality biases from affecting the results.

Delphi Disadvantages u Interpretation of the participants’ responses and the meaning or importance of the factors in planning is difficult. u How the findings can be generalized to delphis which cover a 30-year extension is unknown. u Delphi at present can render no rigorous distinction between reasonable judgment and mere guessing. u It is difficult to determine the degree of bias injected into the results by the delphi administrator.

Nominal Group Technique

u A combination approach of incorporating both written responses and face-to-face discussion to arrive at expert consensus. Nominal Group Technique

u The group meets at a common site. u Each person generates in silence a list of ideas independently on paper (similar to delphi) to the first question. u The recorder lists an idea from each member on newsprint, chalkboard, overhead projector, etc. No discussion is allowed and overlap is ignored. u Group members are then encouraged to generate new ideas triggered by the group list. Nominal Group Technique

u The group now discusses all items listed in order to clarify, explain or combine ideas. New ideas may also be added. u Independently, without discussion, each member selects her/his top ten items and writes each on an index card in order of perceived importance. u Average ranking and frequency of selection are used to determine relative ranks of items. The outcome of this procedure is then discussed. Nominal Group Technique

Focus Groups

u A carefully planned discussion designed to obtain perceptions on a defined area of interest in a permissive, nonthreatening environment Focus Groups

Focus Group Characteristics u Involves people u Conducted in series u Possesses certain characteristics u Provides data u Produces qualitative data u Focused discussion