Observational Research

Observational Research • Observation • Naturalistic • Systematic • Case studies • Archival research

Observing Behavior: Descriptive Research • Descriptive research involves the direct observation and description of behavior. • If people know they are being observed, their behavior may change. This is called reactivity.

Naturalistic Observation • Charles Darwin’s voyage on the HMS Beagle (the basis for his theory of natural selection)

Naturalistic Observation • Jane Goodall's study of chimpanzees

Participant Observation • Participant observation -- the person collecting the data participates in the process being observed • Disguised (covert) vs undisguised (overt) • Rosenhan (1973) On Being Sane in Insane Places

John Howard Griffin (1960) Black Like Me • “I learned within a very few hours that no one was judging me by my qualities as a human individual and everyone was judging me by my pigment. As soon as white men or women saw me, they automatically assumed I possessed a whole set of false characteristics (false not only to me but to all black men). They could not see me or any other black man as a human individual because they buried us under the garbage of their stereotyped view of us. They saw us as “different” from themselves in fundamental ways: we were irresponsible; we were different in our sexual morals; we were intellectually limited; we had a God-given sense of rhythm; we were lazy and happy-go-lucky; we loved watermelon and fried chicken… Always, in every encounter even with “good whites,” we had the feeling that the white person was not talking with us but with his image of us.

Criticisms of Participant Observation • By joining the group, they change it in some way • Groups are unaware they are being observed • May be unethical • People don’t liked to be spied on, feel betrayed, foolish • Observer bias • Hard to quantify unstructured data

Structured Observational Methods • Structured • Quantitative methods in which behaviors are observed and recorded with objective system • Researcher must meticulously develop coding system • Code things relevant to research • Coding system is lens of research • Interrater reliability • Extent to which the ratings of different observers are in agreement

Structured Observational Methods • Gender differences & obedience to stop signs (McKelvie & Schamer, 1988) • Men were as likely to obey (36%) as to disregard the stop sign (36%) • Women were more likely to obey (62%) than disregard the stop sign (16%)

Observational Research • Gender, group size, and amount of beer consumed (Geller, Russ, & Altomari, 1986) • Observed 56 females 187 males at local bars (university students) • Results • Drank more in a group • Males drank more than females • Function of container type

Observational Analysis: Coding System • Interaction Process Analysis • Observational coding system developed by Bales to measure 6 task and 6 socioemotional activities in a group

Case Studies • An intensive description and analysis of a single individual, organization, or event • Advantages: • Informing us on rare, unusual or noteworthy conditions not easily studied otherwise • Disadvantages: • Causes cannot be identified

Case Study: Love Canal • Levine’s study of Love Canal residents • Research Questions: Why did such an event occur? How did community leaders respond? How did residents cope? • Data sources: • Reviewed historical records • Newscasts & newspapers • Public meetings • Met & interviewed residents & officials

Case Study: Phineas Gage • September 13, 1848 • Cavendish, Vermont • Gage was a foreman for a railway construction gang • An explosion sent a 3’ 7” tamping iron through his skull, landing 25 yards behind him

Case Study: Phineas Gage • Went back to work several months later, but his personality had changed • He worked taking care of horses and working on a farm for the next 11 years • In February, 1860, he began to have epileptic seizures and died May 21, 1860 • His body was exhumed in 1867 so scientists could study his skull

Dr P., was a successful musician Dr P. could only recognize objects if he could make out a distinct feature. He recognized his brother because of his big teeth Asked to identify a glove ‘A continuous surface…infolded on itself. It appears to have…five outpouchings, …’ Mistook his wife for a hat The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat

Archival Research • Using previously compiled information to answer research questions • Researcher doesn’t collect original data • Analyzes existing information • Types of archival research data • Statistical records • Survey archives • Written records • Examples sources: • census data, hospital records, historical documents, police reports, speeches made by politicians, marriage licenses, weather reports, outcomes of sporting events

Important Archival Findings • Increased risk of cancer if exposed to radiation, asbestos, vinyl chloride, etc. • Congenital malformation of infants if mother had German measles during pregnancy

Archival Research: Gurr (1968) • Theory = violence rate related to a feeling of deprivation • 1100 observations of violence collected from New York Times Index, Newsyear (annual index of Facts on File), and the AfricaDigest, Annual Register of Events in Africa, Hispanic_American Report, and several case studies published as books. • Quantitative indices of strife: number of participants, number of casualties, number of days it lasted, etc. • Quantitative indices of deprivation: economic downturns, political suppression, etc. • Found a significant relationship

Archival Research: Durkheim (1951) • Theory = suicide is related to lack of integration into a social group • Codes for social group integration = religious, familial, political • Obtained suicide rates from public records • Results= suicide is lower in • Catholics • married people • people with children • periods of national unification and fervor

Archival Research: Miller (1927) • Is there a general tendency to vote a candidate out of office whenever your personal budget is stressed (regardless of the actual cause)? • Index of stress = rainfall in agricultural regions • Index of voting = candidate retained or replaced by opposing candidate • Period chosen 1825-1924 • Results= • above average rainfall = candidates retained • below average rainfall = candidates replaced

Observational Research