Structured observation
What did Salancik mean by “field stimulations”?
Being immersed in the field can help to simulate the experience of your informants
Researchers can intervene in and manipulate a setting to observe the effects
Surveys conducted in the field are more effective than structured observation
Some researchers find their projects so stimulating that they have to lie down
Researchers can intervene in and manipulate a setting to observe the effects
In “field stimulation”, participants do not know they are being studied, so there is no reactive effect as discussed in the previous question. In this type of observation study, the researcher directly intervenes in and/or manipulates an element in the environment in order to observe changes in participant behaviour. Salancik (1979, cited on page 277) classified “field stimulations” as a qualitative method but Bryman (p277) believes they work better as part of a quantitative strategy because of the concentration on numbers of instances of particular behaviours.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 277,278
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 277,278
Researchers can intervene in and manipulate a setting to observe the effects In “field stimulation”, participants do not know they are being studied, so there is no reactive effect as discussed in the previous question. In this type of observation study, the researcher directly intervenes in and/or manipulates an element in the environment in order to observe changes in participant behaviour. Salancik (1979, cited on page 277) classified “field stimulations” as a qualitative method but Bryman (p277) believes they work better as part of a quantitative strategy because of the concentration on numbers of instances of particular behaviours.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 277,278
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 277,278
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LaPiere conducted a study of the way restaurant owners granted or refused access to a Chinese couple. This is an example of observing behaviour in terms of:A. Individuals
B. Incidents
C. Short time periods
D. Long time periods
The key advantage of structured observation over survey research is that:
A. It does not rely on the researcher’s ability to take notes
B. The researcher is immersed as a participant in the field they are studying
C. It does not impose any expectations of behaviour on the respondents
D. It allows you to observe people’s behaviour directly
Which of the following is not a type of sampling used in structured observation?
A. Focal sampling
B. Scan sampling
C. Emotional sampling
D. Behaviour sampling
What is meant by the term “reactive effect”?
A. If people know they are being observed, they may change their behaviour
B. Research subjects may have a bad reaction to the drugs they are given
C. Researchers sometimes react to their informants’ behaviour with horror
D. The categories on an observation schedule may not be mutually exclusive
What is an observation schedule?
A. A set of explicit rules for assigning behaviour to categories
B. A timetable of days on which you plan to carry out your observation
C. A list of questions to ask your interviewees
D. A way of testing for measurement validity
Cohen’s kappa is a measure of:
A. Inter-surveyor consistency
B. Intra-observer validity
C. Intra-coder validity
D. Inter-observer consistency
Which of the following is a problem associated with survey research?
A. The problem of objectivity
B. The problem of “going native”
C. The problem of omission
D. The problem of robustness
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