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BRM - CH11 - Observation Methods - Coggle Diagram
BRM - CH11 - Observation Methods
What is it?
the systematic process of recording the behavioral patterns of people, objects, and occurrences as they are witnessed
serves a formulated research purpose
planned systematicall
recorded systematically and related to general propositions, rather than simply reflecting a set of interesting curiosities
subjected to checks or controls on validity and reliability
What can be observed?
Physical action
Verbal behavior
expressive behavior
spatial relations and locations
temporal patterns
Physical objects
verbal and pictorial records
The nature of Observations studies
Visible Observation
observation in which the observer's presence is known to the subject
best suited for situations or behavior that is not easily predictable in advance of the research
mechanical observation by machines like traffic counters, can accurately record situations or types of behavior that are routine, repetitive, or programmatic
normally unobtrusive
data is free from researcher's distortions
Hidden Observation
Observation in which the observers presence is hidden from the subject
hidden and unobtrusive minimizes respondent error
data is free from researcher's distortions
The observation of human behavior
non verbal communication
facial expressions
body language
eye activity
personal space
gestures
manners
The use of Observation as Complimentary Evidence
observation studies may extend the results of other forms of research by providing complementary evidence concerning individuals true feelings
Direct Observation
straightforward attempts to observe and record what naturally occurs the investigator does not create an artificial situation
response latency
, amount of time it takes to make a choice between two alternatives, used as a measure of the strength of preference
observer plays a passive role, making no attempt to control or manipulate a situation, instead just records what happens
some data is better suited for this type of method
traffic counts
observing the direction of customer movement
data consist of records of events made as they occur
some data is easily and quickly obtained by these methods
sex
race
respondents characteristics, etc
Errors associated with Direct Observation
observer may record events subjectively
observer bias
, distortion of measurement resulting from the cognitive behavior or actions of a witnessing observer
Accuracy might falter too, if the observer does not record every detail that describes the persons, objects, or events in a particular situation
interpretation of observation data is another potential source of error
Scientifically contrived data
Contrived observation
, when the researcher creates an artificial environment in order to test a hypothesis
can increase the frequency of occurance of a specific behavior to be observed
Combining direct observation and interviewing
, during or after detailed observations, individuals are asked to explain their actions.
Ethical issues in human observation
hidden observation might raise privacy questions
if there's no consent, research is unethical and can be illegal
can be considered entrapment, deceive or trick into difficulty, which clearly is an abusive action
if you ask permission, the subject might not act naturally
if you don't, you might break some rules
the right balance is the key, the three question rule
is the behavior being observed commonly performed in public?
is the behavior performed in a setting of anonymity?
has the person agreed to be observed?
The observation of Physical Objects
physical trace evidence is a mark of some past event or occurrence.
the wear of the cover of a book indicates usage
items in a garbage can tell you much about the consumption in a household
can serve as a observation to correct other studies related to consuption
counting and recording inventory items through retail or wholesale audits
this can enable companies to investigate brand sales on regional and national levels, market shares, seasonal purchasing patterns, and so on
Content Analysis
researchers may use
content analysis
, the systematic observation and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication
serve to investigate whether advertisers use certain, themes, appeals, claims, or deceptive practices more than others or whether recent consumer-oriented actions by the FTC have influenced the contents of advertisements
Explore the information content of television commercials directed at children, company images portrayed in ads, etc
Mechanical observation
Television monitoring
, computerized mechanical observation used to obtain television ratings
Monitoring website traffic
, easy and inexpensive, although, identifying meaningful information and interpreting the data correctly is crucial
CTR
, proportion of people who are exposed to an internet ad who actually click on its hyperlink to enter the website; CTR's are very low
unique visitors to a website is interesting, but difficult to achieve
scanner based research
, type of consumer panel in which participant's purchasing habits are recorded with a laser scanner rather than a purchase diary
data measure observed actual purchase behavior vs reported behavior
is accurate
is unobtrusive, no bias from respondents
more extensive data can be collected
data collected from computarized checkout scanners can be combined with data about the timing of the advertisement, price changes, displays, sales promos, etc.
Measuring physiological reactions
eye tracking monitor
, used to observe eye movements
pupilometer,
used to observe and record changes in the diameter of the pupil
tried to be tied up with interest towards advertisements
used when research believe consumers are unaware of their own reactions to stimuli such as advertising or if consumers are believed to not being honest about their answers
psychogalvanometer,
measures galvanic skin response, physiological changes accompany emotional reactions to advertisements, packages, and slogans.
voice-pitch analysis,
physiological measurement technique that records abnormal frequencies in the voice that are supposed to reflect emotional reactions to various stimuli.
it has a lot of flaws, subjects know they are being observed, calibration is tricky, is expensive, and the methods are inconclusive