Different observation types and inter-observer reliability Learning Approach

You may be familiar with observation being included as part of the data collection for experiments. But in an
experiment where the investigator manipulates the IV and controls as many extraneous variables as possible, the
observation itself is not a research method. For observation to be a research method, it must be the main method of
gathering data, and this is done in a natural environment where nothing is manipulated or controlled by the
experimenter – behaviour is simply observed, and recorded as natural.

Sometimes, an observation can be in the form of a structured observation, where the same situation is repeated with
different groups of participants and researchers observe what happens to each different participant in that situation.
The IV is not manipulated by the researcher, but the setting and environment are well-controlled, making it structured.

However, structured observations are very rarely used in Psychology. They may be used in child psychology, but
otherwise a naturalistic observation is used.

Type of
Description Strengths Weaknesses
observation
An observation is There is ecological validity because they It is possible that the observer is subjective
carried out ‘in the take place in a natural environment for because they have to choose what to
field’ (in a natural the participants observe and what to record
Naturalistic
setting), and the
in general They gather in-depth and detailed data Data and findings are not generalisable to
participants may be
aware or unaware that that is usually qualitative, but is still all people at all times, as the study is a
they are being studied quite rich even when quantitative cross-section of one moment in time
The observer takes The observer may become too involved
part in the study and There is ecological validity because the
with having both the observer and
takes part in all study takes place in a natural setting
participant role and may not be able to
Participant activities – the The observer is likely to gather valid record all the information needed
observer is one of the data which is obtained from a natural
participants of the Difficult to replicate as it’s hard to find
setting with natural activities
study someone who can do both roles
Findings can be objective and therefore
The observers are more likely to affect the
The observers are not more reliable, because the observers
situation lost from their presence
part of the study, they stand back from the study and have
Non- more time to record findings The observers might miss the relevance of
sit away from the
participant some interactions or misunderstand
activities and do not Time-tallying can be used which is very
get actively involved something due to not having an active part
difficult when also taking part in the
in the activities
study
Participants do not Studies have high ecological validity There is no informed consent, so they may
know that there is an because normal behaviour is observed not be ethical
experiment taking (participants are unaware of the study)
Participants cannot help the observer (e.g.
Covert place and that they are The observation is easier because the by finding a suitable location) which causes
being studied, the observer can carry out the study without problems as it is hard to observe in secret as
study is being carried the participants worrying about the the observer must do something different
out secretly observer from the norm
They are ethical because the observers
Participants are aware The participants are aware of the study and
have informed consent and right to
that they are being so normal behaviour may not occur
withdraw
Overt studied and are It might be difficult to carry out because the
completely aware of all The observers can ask for assistance
observers themselves would be watched to
aspects of the study from the participants (e.g. where to
see what they are doing
study from)

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To summarise from the table above, there are four types of naturalistic observation, which fall under two conditions:
 participant observation or non-participant observation – either the observer takes part in the study as one of the
participants, or they remain a sole observer to record information only
 covert observation or overt observation – either the observation takes place secretly without the participants
knowing they are being studied, or the observer tells them fully about the study to gain informed consent

Whilst one of the main weaknesses of observations in general is that they tend to be hard to replicate, and therefore
more often than not lack much reliability (as it cannot be tested for), an observation can have high inter-observer
reliability. This occurs when there is more than one observer allocated to the study, and they each record their own
data separately. After the data collection has taken place, the findings from each are compared and if there is a clear
correlation in the data then the observation is said to have inter-observer reliability, which is a strength.

DATA COLLECTION IN OBSERVATIONS

An observation does not only collect qualitative data, but also quantitative data. Whilst less in-depth and rich with
interpretable information, quantitative data (numerical) are useful when it comes to analysing the results obtained from
the observation as a whole. There are two methods explained here for collating quantifiable data:

Tallying
This involves making a mark each time a specific behaviour is observed. For successful tallying, there should be an
initial observation, preferably with more than one observer, in which categories of behaviour are recorded so that all
the researchers know what behaviour should be tallied

Time-tallying
Time-tallying involves using a tally table to show behaviours being observed, but rather than giving one tally for
every time a behaviour is observed, it means putting down a tally mark for each interval of time (set by the observer)
that the behaviour remains to be done for. For example, if you are observing the types of toys a child plays with, and
they play with some play-dough, are you going to wait until he’s finished playing with the play-dough until your next
tally? The child could play with it for a long time. Instead, mark off one tally for every minute (or other period of
time) he continues playing with the play-dough. When he’s finished, the tallying stops, and the next toy goes up

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