Observational Field Research

Advantages and Role of Observations  Records actual behavior, not what people say they said they did or believe they will say/do.  Recorded behavior can be compared to their statements, to check for the validity of their responses.

Limitations  Observation techniques do not provide insights into what the person may be thinking, why they performed a behavior, or what might motivate a given behavior/comment.  That type of information can only be obtained by asking people directly or indirectly.

Ethical Considerations  When people are being observed, whether they are aware of it or not, ethical issues arise  Technological advances--cameras and microphones--make it possible to gather a significant amount of information about verbal and non-verbal behavior of customers as well as employees that might easily be considered to be an invasion of privacy or abusive, particularly if the subject is unaware of being observed  Yet the information is used to make decisions that impact him/her.

Should you Collect Your Data by Observation? Questions to consider:  Is the topic sensitive?  Can you observe the Phenomena?  Do you have a lot of time?  Are you sure what you are looking for?

Types of Observations  Observation is a primary method of collecting data by human, mechanical, electrical or electronic means.  The researcher may or may not have direct contact or communication with the people whose behavior is being recorded. Observation techniques can be part of qualitative research as well as quantitative research techniques.

Six Different Ways Of Classifying Observation Methods: 1. Participant and Nonparticipant observation, 2. Obtrusive and Unobtrusive (including physical trace observation), 3. Observation in natural vs. contrived settings, 4. Disguised and non-disguised observation, 5. Structured and unstructured observation, and 6. Direct and indirect observation.

Two Commonly Used Methods Of Direct Observations: 1. Continuous Monitoring 2. Time Allocation

Continuous Monitoring  Continuous monitoring (CM) involves observing a and recording (either manually, electronically, or both) as much of their behavior as possible.  This may be problematic due to the Hawthorne Effect, which showed that people react to the attention they are getting from the researchers and their behavior changes.

Two Major Techniques Of Continuous Monitoring  Focal subject sampling  Sequence sampling

Focal Subject Sampling  Used to study specific behavior patterns.  Observe a single individual, for a specified time, recording all instances of the behavior under study.  Generates data on frequency of behaviors; used to compare between single subjects (or groups of individuals) [for instance males vs. females, kayakers vs. rafters, etc.].  Qualitative observations are summed to produce an "ethogram: a description and inventory (usually with some information on relative frequency or sequence of expression) of all (or at least most) of the behavior patterns exhibited by a subject group.  The production of an ethogram requires considerable effort and numerous observation periods throughout the life cycle of the subject.

Sequence Sampling  Similar to focal subject sampling, in that a specific individual is observed.  Focus is on a chain or sequence of specific behaviors that are generally exhibited in a particular sequence.  However, the observation period is not arbitrary, but begins when the observer thinks the behavioral sequence begins, and ends when the observer thinks it ends.  Some potential for subjectivity and bias.  Careful and well-trained observers can usually recognize changes ("events") in the behavior of subjects, and use these as starting and ending points for an observation period. Videography can be helpful.  The result is a description of the sequence of behaviors that are expressed in some type of activity or interaction.

Time Allocation  Randomly selecting a place and time and then recording what people are doing when they are first seen and before they see you.  Useful when you want to find out the percent of time people are doing things (i.e., playing with kids, working, eating, etc.).  There are several sampling problems with this approach. 1.A large representative sample is needed to generalize about how people spend their time. 2.Questions such as when, how often, and where to observe are problematic. 3.Many overcome these by visits to nonrandom locations, at random times, and/or using scan sampling or instantaneous sampling.

2 Types of Time Allocation  Scan Sampling  Instantaneous Sampling

Scan Sampling  A “census” of a large number of individuals leading to records of behavior at the instant they are observed.  Because scan sampling must be done relatively quickly (otherwise it reverts to focal subject sampling with short but variable sampling periods), it is usually restricted to broad categories of behavior such as "feeding", "reading", or "resting".  Scan sampling is vital for estimates of time budgets: what individuals in the group are doing at any given time.  If 100 individuals are observed, and 70 are resting, 25 are feeding, and 5 are interacting aggressively, the assumption is that any given individual spends 70% of its time resting, 25% feeding, and 5% interacting aggressively at that time of day and/or in that place.

Instantaneous Sampling  One individual is observed repeatedly, but behaviors are recorded at specified intervals.  The specific behavior at the instant of observation is recorded (hence the name "instantaneous sampling").  For instance, one might observe a bird watcher at 30 second intervals. At one instant, the bird watcher might be searching for birds, at another, looking up a bird book, at another, walking rapidly along a trail.  The result of this type of observation is a time/activity budget, which is derived from the proportion of instantaneous observations in which an individual is engaged in various activities.  Preferably, several individuals of the same subject group would be observed, to get average proportions of time spent on different activities.

Direct Observation ContinuousTime Allocation Focal SubjectSequenceScanInstantaneous

Know How You Are Going To Interpret Your Observations  Descriptive: Requires no inference making.You see something and write it down.  Inferential: Requires making inferences about the emotion/motives underlying what is observed. For example, you may observe Tara pounding her keyboard. From this you assume (correctly) that she is frustrated with yet another computer.  Evaluative: Requires making an inference and a judgment from the observed behavior. For example, you may wonder whether computers and humans have a positive relationship. "Positive" is an evaluative judgment. You observe Tara banging on her keyboard and conclude that humans and computers do not have a positive relationship.

Field Notes  When writing field notes you should include descriptive as well as inferential data. It is important to describe the setting and the mood in a detailed manner. All such things that may change behavior need to be noted. Especially reflect upon your presence. Do you think that you changed the behavior noticeably?

Recording Data  Recording data on blank sheets is not recommended!  Create data recording forms and, when possible, use simple codes to record data quickly.  Agree on what to observe and record as a team, practice, debrief, and refine. Practice again.