Observation & Analysis

Observation Field Research

• In the fields of social science, psychology and medicine, amongst others, observational study is an essential tool.

• Observational research techniques solely involve the researcher or researchers making observations.

• There are many positive aspects of the observational research approach. Namely, observations are usually flexible and do not necessarily need to be structured around a hypothesis (remember a hypothesis is a statement about what you expect to observe).

• For instance, before undertaking more structured research a researcher may conduct observations in order to form a research question.

• This is called descriptive research. In terms of validity, observational research findings are considered to be strong. Validity is the best available approximation to the truth of a given proposition, inference, or conclusion.

• Observational research findings are considered strong in validity because the researcher is able to collect a depth of information about a particular behavior. However, there are negative aspects.

• There are problems with reliability and generalizability. Reliability refers the extent that observations can be replicated. Seeing behaviors occur over and over again may be a time consuming task.

• Generalizability, or external validity, is the extent that the study's findings would also be true for other people, in other places, and at other times.

• In observational research, findings may only reflect a unique population and therefore cannot be generalized to others.

• There are also problems with researcher bias. Often it is assumed that the researcher may "see what they want to see." Bias, however, can often be overcome with training or electronically recording observations. Hence, overall, observations are a valuable tool for researchers.

Questions to Consider• Can you observe the Phenomena? You must

be able to observe what is relevant to your study. You could observe but if you never see what your studying your wasting your time. You can't see attitudes. Although you can observe behaviors and make inferences about attitudes.

• Decide before our tip what it is you want to observe at the museum (types of exhibits, peoples attitudes there, age groups)

• Do you have a lot of time? Many people don't realize that observational research may be time consuming. It is in the researchers best interest to observe for a long period of time.

• I.e. if you are observing types of exhibits go though them slowly and document how they vary.

• Try to make a check list of observations you will be making before hand.

• Are you not sure what your looking for? That's okay! Known as descriptive research, observations are a great way to start a research project. Let's say you are interested in male and female behavior in museums. You have no idea what theory to use or what behavior you are interested in looking for. So, you watch and document. Then, these observations begin to turn into a theory.

Type of Observation

• Direct (Reactive) Observation: This is the type of observation you will employ next week.

• You will walk though the museum making no attempt to conceal what you are doing.

• You will simple observe and report.

Observational Variables

• Descriptive:Descriptive observational variables require no inference making on the part of the researcher. You see something and write it down.

• Inferential:Inferential observational variables require the researcher to make inferences about what is observed and the underlying emotion. For example, you may observe a girl banging on her keyboard. From this observation you may assume (correctly) that she is frustrated with the computer.

• Evaluative:Evaluative observational variables require the researcher to make an inference and a judgment from the behavior. For example, you may question whether computers and humans have a positive relationship. "Positive" is an evaluative judgment. You observe the girl banging on her keyboard and conclude that humans and computers do not have a positive relationship.

• When writing field notes the researcher 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?

Analysis

• By the time you get to the analysis of your data, most of the really difficult work has been done.

• In most social research the data analysis involves three major steps, done in roughly this order

• Cleaning and organizing the data for analysis (Data preparation)

• Describing the data (Descriptive Statistics)

• Testing Hypotheses and Models (Inferential Statistics)

• Data Preparation involves checking or logging the data in; checking the data for accuracy; entering the data into the computer; transforming the data; and developing and documenting a database structure that integrates the various measures.

• Descriptive Statistics are used to describe the basic features of the data in a study. They provide simple summaries about the sample and the measures. Together with simple graphics analysis, they form the basis of virtually every quantitative analysis of data. With descriptive statistics you are simply describing what is, what the data shows.

• Inferential Statistics investigate questions, models and hypotheses. In many cases, the conclusions from inferential statistics extend beyond the immediate data alone. For instance, we use inferential statistics to try to infer from the sample data what the population thinks. Or, we use inferential statistics to make judgments of the probability that an observed difference between groups is a dependable one or one that might have happened by chance in this study. Thus, we use inferential statistics to make inferences from our data to more general conditions; we use descriptive statistics simply to describe what's going on in our data.

Assignment

• Before heading to the museum decide what you want to observe.

• At the museum document your observation in detail.

• At home go over your observation and analyse them.

• Type a 500-750 word response to your observations and analysis.

• Use a 12 pt. font and double space (use an academic font)

• Assignment must be in MLA format.

• Edit and proofread your assignment before putting it in your folder.