OBSERVATIONAL FIELD RESEARCH

CONCEPT

Observational Research is the process of watching people in context — in their natural

environment, doing routine activities. 1

Observational research techniques solely involve the researcher or researchers making

observations. There are many positive aspects of the observational research and also

some negative aspects (Advantages and disadvantages). For instance, before

undertaking more structured research a researcher may conduct observations in order to

form a research question. This is called descriptive research.2

The major tool of Observational Research is videotaping. With Observational Research,

depending on the goals and needs of the study, researchers can gather anywhere from

ten to hundreds of hours of documented observations.

Researchers then work together to analyze systematically and to interpret the gathered

data.

The goal of observational research is to capture the embodied knowledge – tacit,

nonscientific knowledge – the type of findings that cannot be uncovered in surveys and

focus groups. To that end, researchers can pay attention to minute details that can often

be overlooked.3

T Y P E S O F O B S E R V A T I O N S

Okay, so you've decided that you think observational research is for you. Now you only

have to pick which kind of observation to do.

Direct (Reactive) Observation In direct observations, people know that you are

watching them. The only danger is that they are reacting to you. As stated

earlier, there is a concern that individuals will change their actions rather than

showing you what they're REALLY like. This is not necessarily bad, however.

For example, the contrived behavior may reveal aspects of social desirability,

how they feel about sharing their feelings in front of others, or privacy in a

relationship. Even the most contrived behavior is difficult to maintain over time.

A long term observational study will often catch a glimpse of the natural

behavior. Other problems concern the generalizability of findings. The sample

of individuals may not be representative of the population or the behaviors

observed are not representative of the individual (you caught the person on a bad

day). Again, long-term observational studies will often overcome the problem of

external validity. What about ethical problems you say? Ethically, people see

1 FUNDERSTANDING. Different Types of Observational Research. Taken from: http://www.funderstanding.com/whatwedo/different-types-of-observational-research 2 BROWN, Laura. Observational Field Research. Taken from: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/Brown/lauratp.htm 3 FUNDERSTANDING. Different Types of Observational Research. Taken from: http://www.funderstanding.com/whatwedo/different-types-of-observational-research

you, they know you are watching them (sounds spooky, I know) and they can

ask you to stop.

Now here are two commonly used types of direct observations:

1. Continuous Monitoring: Continuos monitoring (CM) involves observing

a subject or subjects and recording (either manually, electronically, or

both) as much of their behavior as possible. Continuos Monitoring is

often used in organizational settings, such as evaluating performance.

Yet this may be problematic due to the Hawthorne Effect. The

Hawthorne Effect states that workers react to the attention they are

getting from the researchers and in turn, productivity increases.

Observers should be aware of this reaction. Other CM research is used in

education, such as watching teacher-student interactions. Also in

nutrition where researchers record how much an individual eats. CM is

relatively easy but a time consuming endeavor. You will be sure to

acquire a lot of data.

2. Time Allocation: Time Allocation (TA) involves a researcher randomly

selecting a place and time and then recording what people are doing

when they are first seen and before they see you. This may sound rather

bizarre but it is a useful tool when you want to find out the percent of

time people are doing things (i.e. playing with their kids, working,

eating, etc.). There are several sampling problems with this approach.

First, in order to make generalizations about how people are spending

their time the researcher needs a large representative sample. Sneaking

up on people all over town is tough way to spend your days. In addition,

questions such as when, how often, and where should you observe are

often a concern. Many researchers have overcome these problems by

using nonrandom locations but randomly visiting them at different times.

Unobtrusive Observation: Unobtrusive measures involve any method for

studying behavior where individuals do NOT know they are being observed

(don't you hate to think that this could have happened to you!). Here, there is not

the concern that the observer may change the subject's behavior. When

conducting unobtrusive observations, issues of validity need to be considered.

Numerous observations of a representative sample need to take place in order to

generalize the findings. This is especially difficult when looking at a particular

group. Many groups posses unique characteristics which make them interesting

studies. Hence, often such findings are not strong in external validity. Also,

replication is difficult when using non-conventional measures (non-conventional

meaning unobtrusive observation). Observations of very specific behaviors are

difficult to replicate in studies especially if the researcher is a group participant

(we'll talk more about this later). The main problem with unobtrusive measures,

however, is ethical. Issues involving informed consent and invasion of privacy

are paramount here. An institutional review board may frown upon your study if

it is not really necessary for you not to inform your subjects.

Here is a description of two types of unobtrusive research measures you

may decide to undertake in the field:

1. Behavior Trace studies: Behavior trace studies involve findings things

people leave behind and interpreting what they mean. This can be

anything to vandalism to garbage. The University of Arizona Garbage

Project one of the most well-known trace studies. Anthropologists and

students dug through household garbage to find out about such things as

food preferences, waste behavior, and alcohol consumption. Again,

remember, that in unobtrusive research individuals do not know they are

being studied. How would you feel about someone going through your

garbage? Surprisingly Tucson residents supported the research as long as

their identities were kept confidential. As you might imagine, trace

studies may yield enormous data.

2. Disguised Field Observations: Okay, this gets a little sticky. In Disguised

field analysis the researcher pretends to join or actually is a member of a

group and records data about that group. The group does not know they

are being observed for research purposes. Here, the observer may take on

a number of roles. First, the observer may decide to become a complete-

participant in which they are studying something they are already a

member of. For instance, if you are a member of a sorority and study

female conflict within sororities you would be considered a complete-

participant observer. On the other hand you may decide to only

participate casually in the group while collecting observations. In this

case, any contact with group members is by acquaintance only. Here you

would be considered an observer-participant. Finally, if you develop an

identity with the group members but do not engage in important group

activities consider yourself a participant-observer. An example would be

joining a cult but not participating in any of their important rituals (such

as sacrificing animals). You are however, considered a member of the

cult and trusted by all of the members. Ethically, participant-observers

have the most problems. Certainly there are degrees of deception at

work. The sensitivity of the topic and the degree of confidentiality are

important issues to consider. Watching classmates struggle with test-

anxiety is a lot different than joining Alcoholics Anonymous. In all,

disguised field experiments are likely to yield reliable data but the ethical

dilemmas are a trade-off. 4

CHARACTERISTICS

Guidelines for Conducting the Observation: Some guidelines for carrying out an

observation

Be unobtrusive – Because people behave differently in the presence of others. Its

important that your participants don’t notice you.

Be objective – Your language should be clear, accurate and formal. Focus on the

behavior, not on your interpretation of it. Keep your language objective, Avoid

descriptive language that can exaggerate the behavior.

4 BROWN, Laura. Observational Field Research. Taken from: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/Brown/lauratp.htm

Be specific – your observation should describe specific. Generalities are vague & don't

give a clear picture. For example, an observation that "the five children were each

engaged in gender biased behavior" is too general; it doesn't specifically identify what

the children were doing. "As the observation began, two of the three girls were sitting

quietly at the crafts table, while the third girl pretended to cook dinner in the play

kitchen. All three boys were building a fort with large wooden blocks." This gives a

more accurate picture to your reader of the specific behaviors you are typing as "gender-

biased".

Be scientific - : Your observations should be accurate; they should be thorough &

complete; & should include nothing but your observations. (That is, unless you

observed it, avoid speculations about the possible sugar consumption that may have

preceded the children's excitement). 5

O B S E R V A T I O N A L V A R I A B L E S

Before you start on a research project make sure you how you are going to interpret

your observations.

1. Descriptive: Descriptive observational variables require no inference making on

the part of the researcher. You see something and write it down.

2. 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.

3. 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 (you

know you must replicate these findings!).

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?6

ADVANTAGES

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). 7

It looks at what can be obtained through watching and recording the overt behavior of

our research subjects, rather than self descriptions of the cognitive processes they claim

5 WATERS, Janet. Observational Research. Capilano University. 2055 Purcell Way, North Vancouver - Canada.

Taken from: http://www2.capilanou.ca/programs/psychology/students/research/observation.html 6 BROWN, Laura. Observational Field Research. Taken from: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/Brown/lauratp.htm 7 Idem.

to follow, obtained via mainstream research methodologies such as focus groups, depth

interviews or surveys.8

In terms of validity, observational research findings are considered to be strong.

Trochim states that 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. In terms of variability (legitimate) observational research findings

are considered strong. That is the best to the truth of a given proposition, inference or

conclusion.9

DISADVANTAGES

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 described by Trochim as

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.

The time, many people don't realize that observational research may be time consuming.

In order to obtain reliability, behaviors must be observed several times. In addition,

there is also a concern that the observer's presence may change the behaviors being

observed.

8 SHARP, Anne and TUSTIN, Michelle. Benefits of Observational Research. University of South Australia. Taken from: http://smib.vuw.ac.nz:8081/WWW/ANZMAC2003/papers/RES02_sharpa.pdf 9 BROWN, Laura. Observational Field Research. Taken from: http://www.socialresearchmethods.net/tutorial/Brown/lauratp.htm