Non-experimental methods

Non-Experimental Methods

Observational Techniques

• Watching and recording behaviour. Most observations are naturalistic, but some occur under controlled conditions.
• 2 Types of Observations:
• Participant observation-Involves observers becoming actively involved in the situation being studied (more 'hands on' perspective).
• Non-participant observation- Involves researchers not becoming actively involved in the behaviour being studied.
• Observations can also be:
• Overt-where participants are aware they are being observed.
• Covert- where participants are unaware that they are being observed.
• continued...

ADVANTAGES of Observational techniques

• High external validity-observations usually occur in natural setting, participants behave naturally and results can be generalised to other settings.
• Practical Method- can be used where manipulation of variables would be unethical or impractical (where co-operation of those being observed is unlikely).
• Few Demand Characteristics- with covert observations are participants are unaware that they are being studied.

WEAKNESSES of Observational Techniques

• Cause and Effect-causality can't be inferred, little control of extraneous variables as only observed.
• Observer Bias- observers may see what they want to see (prevent by inter-observer reliability).
• Replication-The lack of control over variables means conditions can never be accurately repeated to check the results.
• Ethics-If participants are unaware that they are being studied, issues such as invasion of privacy and informed consent arise.
• Practical problems-It can be difficult to remain unobserved and there can be problems recording behaviour and it can also be difficult to categorise observed behaviours accurately.

Observational Design

• There are several ways in which data can be gathered in naturalistic observations:
• - Visual recordings like videos and photographs, audio recordings, or 'on the spot' note-taking using agreed rating scales or coding categories.
• Behavioural catergories
• -Observers agree on a grid or coding sheet on which to record the behaviour being studied.
• -Coding can involve numbers or letters to describe characteristics.
• -Observed behaviour can also be rated on structured scales, like 1-5.
• Sampling procedures
• -Event sampling-counting the number of times a behaviour occurs in a target individual or individuals.
• -Time sampling- Counting behaviour in a set time frame.
• Inter-observer reliability
• -independent observers code behaviour in the same way,lessens the chance of observer bias.

Self-report Techniques-QUESTIONNAIRES

• -Respondents record answers to a pre-set list of questions, usually concerning behaviour, opinions and attitudes.
• -Closed (fixed) questions- involves yes/no answers. They are easy to quantify but restrict participants answers.
• -Open questions-More difficult to analyse, but allow freedom of expression and greater depth of answers.

ADVANTAGES of Questionnaire

• Quick- Large amounts of information can be gathered in a short period.
• Lack of Investigator effects- can be completed without researchers present.
• Quantitative and Qualitative analysis-closed questions easy to analyse statistically and open questions provide richer, fuller detail.
• Replication-standardised questions are used, they are easy to replicate.

DISADVANTAGES of Questionnaires

• Misunderstanding- participants may misinterpret questions. There can also be problems with technical terms, emotive language and misleading questions.
• Biased samples- Certain types of people may be more willing to fill questionnaires in therefore they may not be representative of the whole population.
• Low response rates
• Superficial issues-not suitable for sensitive issues requiring detailed understanding.
• Social desirability/ idealised answers-Participants may lie in order to give answers expected of them or answers which may reflect how they would like to be rather than how they actually are.

Questionnaire construction

• -Aims- having aims helps, its easier to write questions that address an aim.
• -Length-questions should be short and to the point, people are more likely to complete it.
• -Previous questionnaires- use examples of questionnaires which were previously successful, as a basis for the questionnaire design.
• -Question formation-questions should be concise, unambiguous and easily understood.
• -Pilot study- Should be tested on people who can provide detailed and honest feedback on all aspects of the design of the questionnaire.
• -Measurement scales-Likert scale is the best kind.

Interviews

• .Researchers ask face-to-face questions.
• .3 main types of interview:
• .Structured- identical closed questions being read to participants, with the interviewer writing down answers. Interviewers do not need much training as such interviews are easy to conduct.
• .Unstructured- informal discussion on a particular topic. Interviewers can explore interesting answers by asking follow up questions. Interviewers need considerable training and skill to conduct such interviews.
• .Semi-structured-involves combining structured and unstructured techniques, producing quantitative and qualitative data.

ADVANTAGES of interviews

• .Complex issues- complicated or sensitive issues can be dealt with in face-to-face interviews by making participants feel relaxed and able to talk.This is particularly true of unstructured interviews.
• .Ease misunderstandings-Any misunderstood questions can be explained and individual questions can be adapted so they are understood by all participants.
• .Data analysis-Semi-structured interviews produce both quantitative and qualitative data,which can be used to complement each other. Structured interview produce quantitative data that can easily be analysed.
• .Replication-The more standardised or structured an interview, the easier it is to replicate.

WEAKNESS of interviews

• .Interviewer effects-interviewers may unconsciously bias answers,like by their appearance. Interviews are also subject to demand characteristics and social desirability bias.
• .Interview training-A lot of skill is required to carry out unstructured interviews, particularly concerning sensitive issues.
• .Ethical issues-participants may not know the true purpose of the interview and there is also a danger that participants may reveal more than they wish.
• .Participant answers-Interviews are not suited to participants who have difficulty putting their feelings, opinions,etc into words.

Design of Interviews

• .Who would be the most appropriate interviewer?
• -Gender and age- may affects participants' answers when topics are of a sensitive sexual nature.
• -Ethnicity-interviewers may have difficulty interviewing people from a different ethnic group to themselves. (Word et al. (1974) found that white participants spent 25 percent less time interviewing black job applicants than white applicants).
• -Personal characteristics & adopted role-Interviewers can adopt different roles within an interview setting, and use of formal language, accent and appearance can also affect how someone comes across to the interviewee.
• .Interviewer training is essential to successful interviewing.

Correlational Studies

• -Correlational studies involve measuring the strength and direction between the relationships between Co-variables.
• .Positive correlation-occurs where one co-variable increases as another co-variable increases.
• .Negative correlation-Where one co-variable increases while another co-variable decreases.
• -Scattergrams are graphs used to display the extent to which two variables are correlated.

ADVANTAGES of correlational analysis

• .Allows predictions to be made
• .Allows quantification of relationships-show the strength of a relationship between two co-variables.
• .No manipulation-do not require manipulation of variables and so can be used where carrying out an experiment which may be unethical.

DISADVANTAGES of correlational analysis

• .Quantification problem- correlations that appear low can sometimes be significant if the number of scores is high, while correlations that seem high are not always statistically high.
• .Cause and effect- As they're not done under controlled conditions,correlations do not show causality. Therefore we cannot say that one co-variable caused the other.
• .Extraneous relationships- Other variables may influence the co-variables.
• .Only works for linear relationships