Transcript Naturalistic Observation

Naturalistic Observation
A Brief Introduction
• The main purpose of observational methods is
description.
– We simply observe behaviors and seek for
patterns in these behaviors.
– That is, we try to develop a theory to explain
behavior
• Etiology: A study of documentation of animal
and human behaviors
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKyrLFyOi04
A Brief Introduction
• Naturalistic observation can be used in two
major ways
– Observation with an intervention (a manipulation)
– Observation without an intervention (without a
manipulation)
Observation With an Intervention
• We use that method when
– We have an a priori idea of what to observe, and
– The event that we interested in is rare
– That kind of observations is a kind of field
experiments
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHA3Ypjd
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Observation Without an Intervention
• In such observational studies, the researcher
simply watcher what is going on
• It is a good method when
– We do not have an a priori idea of what to
observe, and
– The event is not rare
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4wy1wQ
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Two Major Way to Observe
• We can conduct observational studies in
different ways
– Overt vs. Covert observations
– Participant vs. non-participant observations
Two Major Way to Observe
Overt vs. Covert Observations
• In overt observations, participants are aware
of being watched
– It is more ethical.
• We can ask participants for consent
– Participants may behave unnaturally
• In covert observations participants are not
aware of being watched
– Participants behave more natural
– Ethical problems
Two Major Way to Observe
Participant vs. Non-Participant Observations
• In participant observations, researcher
participate the interactions between participants
– We can get an in-depth picture of behavior
– Observer may bias participants’ behaviors
• In non-participant observations, researcher does
not participate the interactions between
participants
– We can get a more limited picture of behavior
– Observer cannot bias participants’ behaviors
Two Major Way to Observe
Four Combinations of Observational Studies
Participant
Researcher participate in interactions,
Overt and participants are aware of being
watched
Non-Participant
Researcher simply observe
participants, and participants are
aware of being watched
Researcher participate in interactions, Researcher simply observe
Covert but participants are not aware of being participants, but participants are not
watched
aware of being watched
Four Combinations of Observational Studies
Overt-Participant Observations
• Between 2005 and 2008, Sümer conducted an project on
the interaction between mother and child. He simply
interested in mother sensitivity and child’s reactions.
– For this study, two observers visited homes and observed the
interactions between mother and child. They used a specific
measurement method “Q-Sort” for their observations.
• Milligram (1992) investigated how individuals deal with
urban life in which unwanted encounters are inevitable.
– Researchers took photographs of people in train stations and
showed these pictures to commuters.
– They asked participants whether they recognized the person in
the picture.
– By this way, they concluded that the average New York City
commuter had 4.5 familiar strangers in his or her life.
Four Combinations of Observational Studies
Covert-Participant Observations
• In 1956, Festinger observed a religious cult which believed that a flood
would destroy most of North America in late December.
– The leader of the cult, Mrs Keetch, asserted that she had contact with aliens
from a planet called Clarion.
– She devoted herself to spread aliens’ word and convince people to get
prepared.
– Festinger guessed that this disaster would never happen and he wanted to
observe what would happen after the predicted date of disaster (the
aftermath of the failed prophecy).
• He joined the cult with his two colleagues and five hired observers. They
encountered several methodological difficulties
– First, data recording was a problem. They could not write what they observed
when they attended to the cult’s meetings in Mrs Keetch’ house. They could
not rely on their memories, so they decided to use bathroom to report
whatever they experienced in the meeting.
– Second and more serious problem was reactivity. The mere presence of
observers as members strengthened the belief that the flood prophecy was
correct.
Four Combinations of Observational Studies
Overt –Non-Participant Observations
• In Hawthorne experiments, workers were
observed in differing work conditions between
1924 and 1932.
– Studies were conducted in Hawthorne Works (a
factory) of Western Electric Company.
– These studies are the source of now famous term
Hawthorne Effect.
• In most ethnographical studies, animals are
aware of being observed.
– Mere-exposure and familiarization is used to observe
animals behaviors.
Four Combinations of Observational Studies
Covert –Non-Participant Observations
• Graham and Wells (2001) conducted a naturalistic observation
study of bar patrons in a Canadian taverns.
– They used naturalistic observation and interviews in their research.
– In the naturalistic observation portion of their research, 117 aggressive
incidents were observed during the 93 nights of the study.
– Most of the observation periods were weekend nights between midnight and
2:30 a.m.; the patrons were unaware that research was being conducted.
– The researchers documented patterns of aggressive behavior in this particular
bar.
• For example, they found that nearly 75% of the incidents involved males only.
• Also, moderate or higher levels of physical aggression were observed in 67% of the
incidents.
• About 33% of the incidents occurred outside of the bar’s premises.
– Graham and Wells identified several triggers for aggression in bars, including
problems with bar staff, rowdy behavior, and interpersonal relationship
problems.
– Studies such as this might be helpful to bar managers who want to reduce
aggressive incidents in their establishments.
•
See http://peace.saumag.edu/faculty/kardas/Courses/RMPA/naturalisticobservation.html
The Process of Observational Studies
• In general, observational studies are consisted
of two phases
– First Phase: Unstructured Observation
– Second phase: Structured Observation
The Process of Observational Studies
Unstructured Observation
• Researcher simply observes all behaviors.
– S/He takes notes about behavior and possible
contextual triggers.
– These notes are observer narratives
• Observer narratives must be as objective as they could
be.
• They are a kind of a operational definition of the
observed behavior.
The Process of Observational Studies
Structured Observation
• Researcher decide on which
behaviors are going to be
observed
– To observe target behaviors,
researcher must choose behavioral
units
– A behavior unit can be measured as
• Frequency
• Duration
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=i_SS2ebPItg
Observer Bias
• No observer is a mechanical tool.
– So, every observations are open to biases.
• Possible Sources of Observer Bias
– Selective Attention
– Selective Encoding and Retrieval
• To reduce observer bias
– Control observer knowledge
– Separate fact from interpretation
– Use sampling methods
to Reduce Observer Bias
Control Observer Knowledge
• Whenever it is possible, it is good to keep
observer uninformed.
– This method is called blinding
• When observers do not know the purpose or
hypothesis of the observation, they can not
bias their observations
– It is sometime hard to keep observers uninformed
to Reduce Observer Bias
Separate Fact From Interpretation
• In many cases, observers can confuse
interpretations with facts.
– Hitting is a fact. Aggressive behavior or aggression
is an interpretation of this fact
• A part of observation form can be allocated
for interpretations
Fear or excitement is something
that we attribted to a certain
facial expression
to Reduce Observer Bias
Use Sampling Methods
• Bias can be reduced by removing observers’
choices about
– Which subject will be observed, or
– When subjects will be observed
• To reduce sampling bias, we can use two
methods
– Event sampling
– Time sampling
Sampling Methods
Event Sampling
• A group of event are randomly chosen
– It increase the generalizability of observations to
different stiuations
• For observation of driver behaviors
– Different traffic lights can be chosen randomly
• For observation of students behavior in kantin
– Different tables can be chosen randomly
Sampling Methods
Time Sampling
• The time of observation is randomly chosen
– It increase the generalizability of observations to
different time periods
• For observation of driver behaviors
– Different periods of day can be chosen randomly
• For observation of students behavior in kantin
– Different periods of conversation can be chosen
randomly
Observer Reliability
• To ensure that observer relaibly observe the subject,
several methods can be used
– Using more than one observer
• At least, two observer observe the same subject
• Correlation coefficient assess reliability
– r= .70 to .90 is ok
– r < .70 = observations are not reliable. PROBLEM
– r> .90 = Observations are too similar. PROBLEM
– Clarifying behavioral units
• Behavior units should be clearified before observations
• Observers may share their experiences after the observation
– Using recording techniques
• Video and voice records can be used to identify
– Whether anything missed in the observation
– Whether observers reported same behavior in a similar way