OBSERVATION

DEFINITION

Observation includes the full range of monitoring behavioural and non-behavioural

activities and conditions.

Observation qualifies a scientific enquiry when it is conducted specifically to answer a

research question.
It is systematically planned and executed.
Uses proper control.
Provides a reliable and valid account of what happened.

Observation is appropriate when-

Sensitive material needed

Only behavioural data needed
Memory decay a major factor
Need to avoid message filtering
Normal setting imperative
Respondent unwilling to participate
Purpose must be disguised

Observation can be visual, listening, reading, smelling.

Behavioural Observations

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 Nonverbal Analysis

Linguistic Analysis

Extralinguistic Analysis

Spatial Analysis

Non-behavioural Observation

Record Analysis

Physical Condition Analysis

Physical Process Analysis

Behavioural Observation

Non-verbal Behaviour: It includes body movement, motor expressions, exchanged glances.

It is an indicator of interest or boredom, anger or pleasure in a certain environment.

Body movement: How a salesman moves in his territory, worker assembling a product.
Motor expressions such as facial movements can be observed as a sign of emotional states.
Eye blink rates: Interest in advertising messages
Exchanged glances: Interpersonal behaviour

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Linguistic Behaviour:

Content or the study of what, how and how much information is conveyed,

Interaction processes that occur between two people and in small groups.

Extralinguistic Behaviour

Vocal: Pitch, loudness and timber

Temporal: Rate of speaking, duration of utterance, and rhythm

Interaction: Tendencies to interrupt, dominate or inhibit

Verbal Stylistic: Vocabulary and pronunciation peculiarities, dialect, and characteristic

expressions.

Insights to the linguistic content of the interactions between supervisors and subordinates or
salespersons and customers.

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Spatial Relationships: How a person relates physically to others.

Proxemics concerns how people organise the territory about them and how they maintain
discrete distance between themselves and others.

Studies on how sales people approach to the customers or the effects of crowding in a work
place.

Non-behavioural Observation

Record Analysis:

It includes historical or current records, public or private records. May be written, printed,
sound-recorded. Photographed or video-taped.

Content Analysis of competitive advertising and the analysis of personnel records

Physical Condition Analysis is typified by store audits of merchandise availability, studies of

plant safety compliance, analysis of inventory conditions, analysis of financial statements
Process or activity analysis: Time and motion studies of manufacturing processes, traffic flow in
a distribution system, paper workflow in an office

EVALUATION OF OBSERVATIONAL METHOD

STRENGTHS:

It is the only method available to gather certain types of information: the study of records,
mechanical processes, and data from young children or other inarticulate participants.

Original data can be collected at the time they occur.

Filtering can be avoided. We need not depend on the reports from others. Forgetting,
filtering can be avoided.

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 We can secure information that is ignored by the participants.

Buying activities in a store, conditions important to the research but shopper does not notice or
consider important.

It alone can capture the whole event as it occurs in its natural environment.

Bargaining session between union and management.

Questioning seldom provides the insight of observation for many aspects of the negotiation
process.

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 Observation is less demanding on participants than questioning.

LIMITATIONS

The research environment is more likely suited to subjective assessment and recording of
data than to control and quantification of events.

Observation is limited as a way to learn about the past and event occurring at some
distant place.

It is often impossible to predict where and when the event will occur.

A slow and expensive process that require either human observers or costly surveillance
equipments.

It is restricted to information that can be learned by overt action or surface indicators.

THE OBSERVER-PARTICIPANT RELATIONSHIP

The relationship between observer and participant can be viewed from three perspectives:

Directedness of Observation

Concealment

Participation

DIRECTEDNESS OF OBSERVATION

It is based on whether the observation is direct or indirect.

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 Direct observation occurs when the observer is physically present and personally
monitors what takes place.

Indirect Observation occurs when the recordings done by mechanical, photographic or

electronic means.

DIRECT OBSERVATION

Strength: Flexible because it allows the observer to record subtle aspects of events and
behaviours as they occur.

Observers perception circuit may be overloaded.

Observer fatigue, boredom, distracting events, can reduce the accuracy and completeness
of observation.

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 INDIRECT OBSERVATION

Strengths:

Less biasing, less erratic.

Permanent records, can be reanalysed.

Weaknesses:

Less flexible

CONCEALMENT

Whether the observers presence is known or unknown to the participant.

Presence is known: Risk of atypical activity. Risk is less when participants engaged in
absorbing activities.

The initial entry of the observer into a situation often upsets the activity patterns of the
participants, but this influence usually dissipates quickly, especially when they are engaged into
some absorbing activities.

Concealment: Observers shield themselves from the object of their observation.

One-way mirror, hidden cameras or microphones can be used.

Partial Concealment: The presence of observer is not concealed but the objectives are not
known to participants.

A study of selling methods may be conducted by sending an observer with a salesperson.

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PARTICIPATION

Whether the observer participate in the situation when observing.

In the participant observation, the participant enters into the social setting and acts as
both an observer and a participant.

Participant observation makes a dual demand on the participants.

Raises an Ethical issue

CONDUCTING AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY

Type of study

Content Specification

Observer Training

Data Collection

TYPES OF OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES

OBSERVATIONAL CHECKLIST

A measuring instrument that records the data collected.

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CONTENT SPECIFICATION

Major variables of interest and any other variable that may affect them.

May be factual or inferential

Factual: Time and day of work, products presented, selling points presented per product

Inferential: Credibility of the salesperson, customer interest in product

ENVIRONMENTAL OBSERVATION CHECKLIST

Lights: General Area On Off Malfunction

OBSERVER TRAINING

Qualification required: Concentration, detail-oriented, Unobtrusive (ability to blend with

the setting and not be distinctive), Experience.

Training for providing thorough knowledge on requirements of the specific study,

outcomes sought, precise content elements.

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DATA COLLECTION

Data collection plan specifies the details of the task.

Who?: What qualifies a participant to be observed?

What?: The characteristics of observation.

When?: Is the time of study is important, or any time can be used?

How?: How the observer will collect the data?

Where?: Where does the act take place?

UNOBTRUSIVE MEASURES

Creative and imaginative forms of indirect observations that can be both nonreactive and
inconspicuously applied.

Examples: Archival searches, physical traces include erosion ( measures of wear) and
accretion (measures of deposit).

The study of wear and tear on book pages is a measure of library book use.

Natural accretion such as discovering the listening the radio stations by observing the car radio
settings.

Measures of erosion and accretion serve as ways to confirm the findings from other methods or
operate as singular data source.

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