Structured: An observer records a
specified range of behaviours in
pre-defined, pre-decided catergories
Unstructured: Observer records
non-specified, wide range of
behaviours, anything that
seems relevant
Naturalistic/Controlled
Naturalistic: Behaviours observed in normal environment
for the participants without interference from the
researcher (has high ecological validity)
Controlled: Behaviours recorded by the researcher in
situations with some manipulation (e.g. take there
somewhere that is not their natural environment
Covert/Overt
Covert: Participants are unaware
they are being watched
Overt: Researcher is known to
participants. They know they are
being observed
Participant/Non-participant
Participant: The observer participates and joins
in with the group
Non-participant The observer watches but does
not join in. E.g. sits at the back of the room
Event/Time
sampling
Event sampling: Uses a checklist of
possible activities which are tallied as
they occur
Time sampling: Uses a limited list of possible
activities. The occurance of these activities is
recorded in relation to short specified time
intervals
Coding frames/Behavioural categories
Coding Frame: a systematic
method for recording
observations in which individual
behaviours are given a code for
ease of recording
Behavioural Category: Dividing a
taget behaviour into a subset of
behaviours
inter-observer reliability: the extent to which there is an agreement
between two or more observers involved in an obersation of a
behaviour. This is measured by correlating the observations of
two or more observers. A general rule is that if (total number of
agreements)/(total number of observation) > .80, the datahave
inter-observer reliability