Lab 4 Oct 5/7 Pass in assignment 2 -www should have already ed me your website addresss: ie. Decide partners observational research : methods in recording behaviours Introduction to observational lab

Partners Working in partners for Labs (Observational, Correlational) and Research Proposal (Term project) If you know who you want to pair up with, tell me Those who don’t, don’t worry you are not alone Compare schedules; you will have to meet outside of lab/lecture times.

Conducting good observational research Naturalistic Observation: descriptive research technique for unobtrusively collecting data on naturally occurring behaviour Geller, Russ, & Altomari (1986) interested in determining the relationship between gender, group size, and the amount of beer consumed in a bar setting

Ounces of beer consumed as functions of gender and beer container, from : Naturalistic observations of beer drinking among college students. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 19,

Conducting good observational research Ensure you have a good measure validity (face, predictive, concurrent, discriminant, construct) reliable (across time, situations, across coders pretesting (pilot), revising methodology often necessary

Systematic Observations of behaviour Operational definitions -specifies precisely how a concept will be measured for the purposes of the study must be specific enough as to be replicable –someone else trying to do your study would know exactly what to do what to observe? Behaviours that can easily be observed without violating personal space, could record if behaviour. occurs or not, but not the preferred method for fine discriminations, provides less info

Quantifying Behaviour Frequency –how often does a particular behaviour occur # times Johnny hits another child Duration –how long does a particular behaviour last? –Ie. Length of time an act of aggression lasts Interval –divide into discrete time-periods (ie. 30seconds) and record whether behaviour occur in that period *these are not mutually exclusive

Types of sampling Time : observe for a period of time, remember what you want to write down, then write in the next time period –appropriate when behaviour occurs continuously Event: pick just one behaviour, –record all instances of that behaviour Individual: when looking at groups. Pick one person, and observe for a period of time, best if you select randomly, –appropriate when examining individual’s behaviour over time

Conducting good observational research Knowing what your question is impossible to observe everything operational definitions quantifying variables

Good Idea to... Keep it relatively simple ethical considerations- use a public place Pilot study what you may learn: your procedure doesn’t run as smoothly as anticipated…Surprise! Revise methodology to ensure adequate reliability, validity

Observational Assignment Completed in partners - one lab report from each pair Research Question: Who is more friendly, men or women? Come up with operational definition, methodology You decide what behaviour(s) to observe, type of coding, type of sampling, where and when Both of you will be observing same behaviours, in the same people, at the same time, recording on identical coding sheets Etholog is available for those with laptops Over the next week conduct your observations(unobtrusively, please be discreet!)

Get ready, get set, observe! Before you go today: with your partner, operationally define “friendliness” how do you define friendliness? What behaviour(s) will you observe? Decide type of coding you will use –frequency, duration, interval Decide type of sampling you will use –time, event or individual Develop coding sheets to use to record your observations Check with Jill or Dr. McLeod to make sure your study is feasible Now you’re ready, go forth and observe! Next week, how to deal with your data, write-up lab, APA format