...Observation is a complex process involving the active participation of the brain and use of senses, in order to gain more knowledge about a situation or event. An inductivist would say that this is the basis of science and plays a key role in scientific and other forms of research. However, using such a simple and direct form of gathering information may also have its limitations despite its usefulness. Using observation to formulate scientific laws can be an unreliable method as results may vary based on individual observations. This happens as the observer’s gatherings may be what he expects to happen or what he wants to happen. In order for the observer to make a generalized statement, he may have to carry out a large number of observations depending on what he needs to find out. This may bring about a challenge for the observer since it can be time consuming and inappropriate for testing observations. The possibility of completing tests on all observations can be small; therefore it is likely that an exception may arise. Inductive statements always involve an element of doubt. There is no guarantee that the next observation will be the same as all the others and disprove the law. Another challenge is that it may be difficult to determine how many observations would be enough to support a law, as the number may be unlimited, and testing would have to be done under varied conditions. Despite the aforementioned limitations of using this method, I believe that it is...
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...A sociologist, when using an observation will have to consider what type of observation to use. A participant observation involves the observer interacting with the group they are observing; whereas or may even observe them over CTV cameras or other devices. As well in a non-participant observation the observer does not interact with the group being observed at all, as this a sociologist could consider whether to use a covert or overt approach; both methods have their strengths and weaknesses so the sociologist must consider carefully which route to take before conducting the study. An overt observation is where the group being observed is fully aware that they are being studied; however in a covert observation the research group is unaware that they are being studied. One practical issue with using an overt observation is gaining access to particular research groups. For example, if the group the observer wishes to study is involved in illegal activities or is some sort of gang, i.e. football hooligans, then they may refuse to be studied if asked. Therefore in a situation where the research group would be likely to refuse being observed then a covert observation would be more practical as they wouldn’t be aware that they are being observed. One practical issue surrounding a covert observation is withdrawing from the study. This could be considered a dangerous or difficult manoeuvre for the sociologist; as if the research group is some gang or group involved in illegal activities...
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...Observation is the process of watching someone carry out a task or series of actions in order to gather data about specific aspects of behaviour, content, processes or interactions. It can be used to better understand individuals or groups in any setting that is relevant to the research topics, for example, observing students in a learning environment such as classroom. 10 “Observation can often reveal characteristics of groups or individuals that would have been impossible to discover by other means.” The distinctive topics for applying the case study method arise from four main situations. Firstly, when the researcher are trying to understand an ongoing process or situation. Through observation they can monitor or watch a process or situation that they are evaluating as it occurs. Secondly, when researcher are gathering data on individual behaviors or interactions between people. Observation allows them to watch peoples’ behaviors and interactions directly, or watch for the results of behaviors or interactions. Thirdly, when researcher need to know about a physical setting. Seeing the place or environment where something takes place can help increase researcher’s understanding of the event, activity, or situation you are evaluating. For example, they can observe whether a classroom or training facility is conducive to learning. And lastly, when data collection from individuals is not a realistic option. If respondents are unwilling or unable to provide data through questionnaires...
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...Chapter 8 Verónica Rosendo Ríos © Observation Business Research Methods Verónica Rosendo Ríos Enrique Pérez del Campo Marketing Research CHAPTER 8. Observation “Never trust to general impressions, my boy, but concentrate yourself upon details.” Verónica Rosendo Ríos © Sir Arthur Conan Doyle “I believe in evidence. I believe in observation, measurement, and reasoning, confirmed by independent observers. I'll believe anything, no matter how wild and ridiculous, if there is evidence for it. The wilder and more ridiculous something is, however, the firmer and more solid the evidence will have to be. ” 1-2 ISAAC ASIMOV Marketing Research CHAPTER 8. Observation CONTENTS General concepts and characteristics Observation types Observation applications Pseudo-purchase Verónica Rosendo Ríos © 1-3 Marketing Research CHAPTER 8. Observation • OBSERVATION: Verónica Rosendo Ríos © “Tools researchers can use to collect primary data about human behavior and marketing phenomena, regardless of the research design, whether exploratory, descriptive or causal” Hair et al. 2006 1-4 Marketing Research CHAPTER 8. Observation Verónica Rosendo Ríos © • Advantages of observation: • They allow measurement of actual behavior rather than reports of intended or preferred behavior. • There is no reporting bias, and potential bias caused by the interviewer and the interviewing process is eliminated or reduced...
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...Portfolio of Child Observations | 1 The Brief: Observation report instructions: carry out three observations of the same child, one must be timed, one written and the other your own choice. In all the observations you must look at the child's physical, language, and social skills and ultimately their overall cognitive development. The report must be written up in the format: abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion and analysis. In the discussion and analysis you must tie together what you have observed with the theory of what would be expected of a child of the appropriate age. The report must contain the following: Abstract: where you outline briefly what you did and why, what you found and the recommendations, Introduction: include information about the child observed, discuss the reasons for observing, assessing young children, ethical considerations, the use of norms, cultural bias etc. Methods: where you explain the methods used, reasons for choice, limitations, strengths and weaknesses. Results: evaluate the child's holistic development, list the three areas of development, physical, social and language, discuss the links between these areas, refer to the stages of development and child development theory in making your judgments. Discussion: summarize your findings, make recommendations for the child's learning and development. Bibliography Overall: mention why is it important to observe young children, what might the information be used for? What rights...
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...youth in 6th – 8th grades. Your portfolio should include all of the materials that you have acquired during this semester for these observations Remember, you are representing Maryville College, so dress and behave appropriately and arrive on time for all appointments! Have fun ( Observation Options: All psychology of adolescence students are required to spend 10 hours interacting with and/or observing youth who are in 6th – 8th grades. Licensure students - 10 hours Observations in 6th – 8th grade classrooms. Non Licensure students – 10 hours of Observations (5 in a structured setting, 5 in a casual setting). You will need to set up these observations yourself. Five hours of your observations should be in a structured setting (youth group, after-school program, boys and girls club, community art classes, karate class etc. There must be an adult in charge for the setting to be considered “structured”) and 5 of the hours can be in a casual setting (basketball game, movie theater, museum, etc.). Format for Portfolio: The following items should be included (in the prescribed order) in your portfolio binder. It is suggested that you use dividers to separate the sections and number the pages. ← Title Page - Minimally include Name, Major, Date ← Table of Contents with page numbers ← Description of Observation/Interaction Settings (along with maps, diagrams, photos, etc.); a separate one is needed for each different setting (if you are...
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...Examine the reasons why some sociologists choose not to use overt observation when conducting research There are several types of observation to distinguish between. Firstly, non-participation observation where the researcher simply observes the group or event without taking part in it, for example, using a two-way mirror to observe children playing with toys. There is also participant observation where the researcher actually takes part in the event or the everyday life of the group while observing it. Secondly there is overt observation, in which the researcher makes their true identity known to those being studied and the sociologists is open about what they are doing. On the other hand, there is covert observation in which the study is carried out under cover. The researcher’s real identity and purpose are kept concealed from the group being studied. The researcher takes on a false identity and role, usually posing as a genuine member of the group. Sociologists face two main issues when conducting a participant observation study; getting in, staying in and getting out of the group being studied and whether to use covert or overt observation. To do a study, the sociologists needs to first gain entry to a group and some groups are easier to enter than others, for example, joining a football crowd is likely to be easier than joining a criminal gang. Making the initial contact with the group may depend on personal skills, having the right connections or even by pure chance...
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...How to Write a Child's Observation Report By Lynn Rademacher, eHow Contributor * * * Share * * Print this article Observing children at play helps educators to structure the classroom. Child observation reports are created for a variety of reasons. College students who are childhood development majors will complete several observations as part of their coursework. Therapists use observation reports to determine the appropriate type of treatment for children with special needs. Child observation reports must contain specific information about the child in a clear and concise manner to be useful to those who are reviewing the report. Other People Are Reading * How to Give Details About Children in Observations * How to Write an Observation Report Instructions 1. * 1 Record the actions of the child during the observation time. Avoid observing the child during quiet time or nap times. * 2 Collect background information on the child from thechild's caregivers. This information is important to understanding the behaviors that will be observed in the child. * Sponsored Links * Free Plagiarism Checker Trusted by over 3 million students, faculty, & professionals worldwide. www.grammarly.com/Plagiarism_Check * 3 Document the physical characteristics of the child. For example, if the child has a physical disability this should be noted in the report along with how the child overcomes the disability...
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...participant observation in their research. (16 marks) A participant observation refers to when the researcher joins in with group he or she is studying. This method is usually favoured by interpretivists as they can understand the meaning behind the behaviour of the group they observe. By putting themselves in the shoes of the participants they can understand why people act in certain ways. This could be particularly helpful in understanding behaviour which is very removed from our normal lives, for example gang behaviour. There are two types of observation, covert and overt. In a covert observation the participants do not know you are observing them for research. In overt observations the participants do. An advantage of participant observations is that they are valid. What people say they do in a questionnaire and what they actually do in real life are not always same thing. By contrast, by observing people we can obtain rich qualitative data that provides a picture of how they really live. Supporters of participant observation such as interpretivists argue that this is the methods main strength and most of its other advantages are linked to this. However a disadvantage of participant observation is practical issues. For example it is very time consuming because it can take years. The researcher also needs to be trained so they are able to recognise aspects of the situation which are sociologically significant and worth further attention. Participant observations can be very...
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...of different types of observational studies including naturalistic and controlled observations, non-participant and participant observations, structured and unstructured observations. Naturalistic observation is a research method commonly used by psychologists and other social scientists. This technique involves observing subjects in their natural environment. This type of research is often utilized in situations where conducting lab research is unrealistic, cost prohibitive, or would unduly affect the subject's behavior. Naturalistic observation differs from structured observation in that it involves looking at a behavior as it occurs in its natural setting with no attempts at intervention on the part of the researcher. A non-participant observation is a type of observational study whereby the researcher does not join in with the activity being observed. Controlled observation is a type of observational study where the conditions are contrived by the researcher. This type of observation may be carried out in a laboratory type situation and because variables are manipulated is said to be high in control. The Dement and Kleitman study is an example of controlled observation. The weakness of the method is that it will be low in ecological validity compared to naturalistic observation. If participants are aware they are being studied they behave differently. A participant observation is a type of observational study where the observer is also a participant in...
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...Unique Cromartie Developmental Checklist Observation Summary EDU 119-OW My observation data was collected on a 2 day observation of a young boy, by the name of Jade. This child is located in a class of 16 children, at a preschool in Rocky Point, NC. His birthday is 11/21/09, and at this present time of observation he is 4 years old. After several days of observation and according to the 4-5 year old developmental checklist, John is well above his age level in development. On day 1 of observation after arriving from breakfast, John washed his hands. After washing his hands he sat down on the carpet to wait for his teachers to join the carpet. The teacher read The Three Little Pigs. After the story, the teacher showed the children a short clip on you tube of the story, then asked the students to draw a picture of the story they had heard. John drew a picture of three pigs and 3 houses and wrote his name at the bottom. He then proceeded to retell me the story about the pigs and the wolf leaving out minor details. In retelling the story John covered some of the Language Milestones and some hand and finger skills while drawing the picture. According to the Language Milestones John was able to recall all parts of the story, not just some. He was able to speak sentences of more than 5 words, and he was able to tell a long story. By writing his name John showed hand and finger skills. He was able to print all the letters in his name. John is a very easy going child that got...
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...5 Practical Methods Direct Observations and Windshield Surveys 50 Practical Methods D irect observations allow one to better understand the environment in which people interact and to see the things some residents may not be aware of, or to better understand a phenomenon. Direct observation may help distill useful information that may not be apparent from your other data collection methods. This type of data collection allows you, the observer, to choose a location, event, or phenomenon and then to directly observe human activities over a period of time. Getting Started Begin by vividly describing the location you are observing. Include details, but try not to get bogged down with clutter. These details may seem superfluous at the time, but future analysis may prove otherwise. You should also describe the people you see and what they are doing. Things to Consider Continually return to the main focus of the observation. Developing an observation form may help. A sample observation form can be found on pages 53–55. The form will help guide your observation and help you focus on specific items. You will need to determine the most appropriate sites and gear the timing of your observation toward the phenomena in question. For example, if you observe a site too early in the morning, you may miss social interactions later in the evening that shed light on your community. You may want to observe different sites at various times to make the best...
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...OBSERVATION REPORT (Observe – to pay attention to, to perceive or notice, to watch, to recognize or note occurrences, to draw inferences, to remark or comment) The Observation Report is to be the result of an in-person observation made for the purpose of partially fulfilling the requirements of this course, and must include a complete and comprehensive report on any 2.5 hours of observation from the list of choices below, exclusive of breaks and recesses. The observation report shall include the type of observation, the name of the presiding officer, the physical location of the observation, the parties involved, the issues, any decisions made and your personal comments regarding how you “see” the proceedings. Please place emphasis on your personal comments, clearly including what you “bring to the table” (your personal background and why you selected your observation). NOTE: Dr. Flower is the only person who will read your reports. You should, prior to the observation, make notes on your preconceived notions, ideas, and perceptions on what you expect to observe. Your pre-work should then be contrasted or compared with your actual observations. Your “gut” reactions to issues, personalities, competencies and results will most likely be very accurate and should serve as the backbone of your report. DO NOT wait until the last minute to attend the observation since it is common for students to discover the scheduled or planned observation does not take place when the...
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...Participant Observation At this stage, we choose one of the field word methods which is the Participant Observation and focus on examining it. We will explain what Participant Observation is about. For example, where does it originated from, what is the aim of applying this field work method, the roles of the researcher using Participant Observation as their field work method, the ways to conduct Participant Observation, the difficulties or concerns while applying this field work method may encounter and other information related. First of all, Participant Observation is the most common field work method that applied by researchers. It is also the most effective and efficient way to get all the information that the researchers want. By the term Participant Observation, it means that the researcher needs to immerse himself or herself in a new culture. He or she participates in people’s daily lives, speaks their language, observes their behavior and customs then records what he or she sees and hears. Though observation, anthropologists can collect data for meaningful analysis. Participant Observation is the field work that anthropologists conduct in their research sites. Most anthropological field work takes a year or more although applied anthropologists usually conduct their field work within a couple of months or less. Participant Observation is the field work that anthropologists conduct in their research sites. It is the most important strategy to collect...
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...Alexis De Tocqueville, a young French explorer sets sale to the New World to study the American prison system. However, this is only simply a story to mislead others from his real objective. Alexis De Tocqueville is traveling to the New World to secretly study the great American Democracy. The purpose of this you might ask? The French must better understand American behaviors in how they feel and act, upon the essential nature of their freedoms. The French must take these learning and place them into their own practices to ensure they have a long last Democracy. In the Introduction chapter of “Democracy in America” by Alexis De Tocqueville and Richard D. Heffner, Heffner goes into length to describe all of the extravagant and detailed descriptions Tocqueville gives about the way Americans feel and act, due to the essential nature of freedoms from their Democracy. I have organized this paper into six different paragraphs that will be described in the following: First, an opening paragraph will let you know what literature I am referencing to when discussing this topic....
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