Observations

Psychology AS · Research methodology. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

In an observation the researcher watches behaviour and records it, instead of asking people about it. Every observation can be described with four choices.

Do people know they are watched (overt) or not (covert)? Does the observer join the group (participant) or stay outside it (non-participant)? Is behaviour recorded with fixed categories decided in advance (structured) or is everything of interest noted (unstructured)? Is the setting the normal environment (naturalistic) or one arranged by the researcher (controlled)?

Observations show what people actually do. They cannot show why, because thoughts and feelings are not visible.

Rules to remember

Overt: participants know they are observed. Ethical, but behaviour may change (demand characteristics).
Covert: participants do not know. Behaviour is natural, but there is no informed consent and privacy may be invaded.
Participant observer: joins the group and gains insight, but may lose objectivity. Non-participant: stays apart and is more objective.
Structured: behavioural categories and a tally chart give quantitative data that are easy to compare. Unstructured: detailed qualitative data that are harder to analyse.
Naturalistic: high ecological validity, little control. Controlled: more control and easier to replicate, less natural.
Categories must be operationalised (defined clearly) so that observers record the same thing.
Inter-observer reliability: two or more observers watching the same behaviour produce closely matching records.

Common mistake

Students treat covert and non-participant as the same thing. Covert is about whether people know they are being watched; non-participant is about whether the observer is part of the group. An observation is described on both.

Worked example

Two observers sit openly at the back of a classroom, which the pupils have been told about. Using an agreed checklist, they tally each time a pupil raises a hand. Classify this observation on all four features.

The pupils know they are being watched, so it is overt.
The observers sit apart and do not join the lesson, so it is non-participant.
A checklist with a pre-set category and tallies makes it structured.
It takes place in the pupils' own classroom with nothing changed, so it is naturalistic.

Answer: An overt, non-participant, structured, naturalistic observation.

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