Exam 3
Research Methods in Psychology
Observation
1
Observational Research
Researchers cannot observe
All of a person’s behavior
All people’s behavior
Researchers can observe
Samples of individuals
Samples of behavior at particular times
Samples of different settings and conditions
2
Observational Research
Goal of sampling behavior
Represent larger population of
Behaviors
People
Settings and conditions
3
Observational Research
Example:
How many hours of television did you watch last week?
Is this number representative of how much you typically watch tv?
Is the average for the class representative of the number of hours of tv watched by
all students on campus?
all college students?
all people?
4
Observational Research
Use data from a sample to represent the population
“Generalize” the findings from sample to population
Sample must be similar to population
External validity
Extent to which a study’s findings may be used to describe people, settings, conditions beyond those used in the study.
5
Sampling Behavior
Extent to which observations may be generalized (external validity)
Depends on how behavior is sampled
Two methods
Time sampling
Situation sampling
Goal: obtain representative sample of behavior
6
Sampling Behavior, continued
Time Sampling
Choose time intervals for observations
Systematic (first day of each week; third hour of every day; 9:00, 11:00, 1:00 during school day)
Random (random day each week, random hour during the day, three random ½ hour periods during school day)
EAR (electronically activated recording; every 12.5 minutes, 30 seconds of recording)
Don’t use time sampling for observing rare events (might miss them)
Event sampling (animals eating; museum patrons interacting with exhibits; player shooting foul shots)
7
Sampling Behavior, continued
Situation Sampling
Choose different settings, circumstances, conditions for observations
If we want to examine how “considerate” a person is, we would do this.
What if there are too many behaviors to observe (food selections in dining hall)?
Use subject sampling to observe only some individuals within a situation (rules about probability sampling still apply—random subject sampling of some form would be best).
8
Exercise
If you wanted to investigate the number and nature of disruptive behaviors in college classes and how they change over the semester at Albertus Magnus College, how would you do that?
What type of sampling would you use (and why)?
What if you wanted to investigate the same topic above in college classes in general?
Classification of Observational Methods
| Observational Methods | |||
| Direct Observation | Indirect (Unobtrusive) Observation | ||
| Observation without Intervention | Observation with Intervention | Physical Traces | Archival Records |
| Participant Observation | Structured Observation | Field Experiment |
10
Direct Observation without Intervention
Naturalistic Observation
Observation in natural (real-world) setting
No attempt to intervene or change situation
Expert teacher example
Goals
Describe behavior as it normally occurs (bullying)
Examine relationships among naturally occurring variables
Establish external validity of lab findings
Correlation between bullying and establishing relationships
Use when ethical considerations prevent experimental manipulation (bullying effects on developing peer relationships)
11
Direct Observation with Intervention
Characterizes most psychological research
Gain control over observations
Three methods in natural settings
Participant observation (note reactivity)
Undisguised—e.g., person gets permission to live with tribe to observe and record their activities
Disguised—e.g., participants sought admission to psychiatric hospital complaining of one symptom
Structured observation—between non-intervention and field experiment; inattentional blindness example
Field experiment—one or more IVs manipulated in natural setting (clown vs. skateboard)
12
Indirect (Unobtrusive) Observational Methods
Examine evidence of past behavior
Nonreactive
Two types of methods
Physical traces
Use (natural or controlled) traces
Cigarettes in ashtray; recyclables in garbage; highlighting in textbook; food left on a plate
Products
Tattoos; bumper stickers; portion size of meals
Archival records
Running records; episodic records
Indirect (Unobtrusive) Observational Methods (continued)
Archival records—public and private documents describing activities of individuals, groups, institutions, and governments
Running records—those that are continuously kept and updated
Status updates on Facebook; stock market; price of oil; records of sports teams
episodic records—describe specific events or episodes
Birth certificate; marriage license; subpoena; divorce filing
One can examine the impact of the above events on behavior (absenteeism, grades, detentions/suspensions)
Unobtrusive Measures
Possible problems in archival records
Selective deposit—not all information is recorded (politicians speaking to media; Facebook best foot forward)
Selective survival—not all information is kept over time (advice columnists don’t keep all letters; parents don’t keep all of kids’ grades/artwork)
Spurious relationships—2D:4D finger ratio; ice cream sales and shark attacks
Nominal
Categorize behaviors, events, people
Hair color; height; walking (alone, pairs, listening to music, playing on phone)
Ordinal
Rank-order behaviors
Least favorite to favorite; fastest to slowest; class rank
Measurement Scales
16
Measurement Scales (continued)
Interval
Has values that are meaningful and equally spaced
Temperature; Time on a clock; Likert scale (?)
Ratio
Has values that are equally spaced and scale has an absolute 0; ratios of scale values.
Age; ruler measurements; income; response time
Measurement Scales (continued)
Brand of phone you use
Scale to measure weight
Number on a baseball jersey
Miles per hour
Golf score (in relation to par)
Top 25 poll in college football
Eye color
Letter grade in class
Military rank
IQ tests
Number of times getting out of seat
Social security number
Measurement Scales (continued)
Brand of phone you use Nominal
Scale to measure weight Ratio
Number on a baseball jersey Nominal
Miles per hour Ratio
Golf score (in relation to par) Interval
Top 25 poll in college football Ordinal
Eye color Nominal
Letter grade in class Ordinal
Military rank Ordinal
IQ tests Interval
Number of times getting out of seat Ratio
Social security number Nominal
Analysis of Observational Data
Method for analysis depends on
Goal of the study
How data are recorded
Measurement scale
Two types of analysis
Qualitative
Quantitative
20
Analysis of Observational Data, continued
Qualitative Analysis
Data reduction to summarize comprehensive records
Coding: identify units of behavior (including categories or themes) using specific criteria
Emphasis on verbal summary
21
Analysis of Observational Data, continued
Quantitative Analysis
Statistical summary of observations
Descriptive statistics depend on measurement scale
Nominal: relative frequency
Ordinal: (e.g., ranking priorities for government action such as education, economy, etc.) rank percentages
Interval and ratio: mean, standard deviation
22
Analysis of Observational Data, continued
Interobserver reliability
Measure of agreement between observers
Nominal: percent agreement
Ordinal: Spearman rank-order correlation
Interval and Ratio: Pearson correlation
23
Analysis of Observational Data, continued
Factors that affect interobserver reliability
Characteristics of the observers
Bored, tired, amount of experience
Train observers and provide feedback
Clearly define events and behaviors to be observed
Clear operational definitions
Provide examples
24
Thinking Critically About Observational Research
Problems in observational research
Influence of the observer on behavior
Observer bias
25
Thinking Critically About Observational Research, continued
Influence of the Observer
Reactivity: people change their usual behavior when they know they’re being observed.
Researchers want to observe people’s usual behavior.
Demand characteristics: people pay attention to cues and information in the situation to guide their behavior.
26
Thinking Critically About Observational Research, continued
Controlling reactivity
Conceal observer (videotape, one-way mirror)
Disguised participant observation (cell phone study)
Use indirect (unobtrusive) observation (use traces, products, archival data)
Adapt participants to observer (lesson study)
Habituation
Reactivity is a potential problem in most psychological research.
27
Thinking Critically About Observational Research, continued
Observer bias
Observers often have expectations about behavior.
Example: expectations based on research hypotheses
Expectations can lead observers to look at only particular behaviors
Example from tipping behavior study
28