Naturalistic Observation
Observation is our most primitive form of learning but sometimes it can be quite elegant. Let's take a look! Do men and women carry their books differently (in their arms or by their sides)? Why can't you just look out the window at campus (Jenni & Jenni, 1976, Science)?
1. Concerns
Reactive Behavior - Do the observed act differently?
Selective Perception - Do the observers see what they want to see?
Data Analysis - Do you need a behavioral taxonomy to describe all the behaviors you need to record?
2. Participant or Nonparticipant
You
can't really dress up as a fire hydrant and stand outside of church
to observe the behavior of churchgoers. Do you have to join the church?
Then, do you become part of the process and influence it? However, we
do recommend this procedure for observing canine behavior. J
Meta-analysis
1. Combines effect sizes or significance testings from many different studies
2. Based usually on translating study results into a comparative z-score mode
3. Concerns are:
You may be combining studies of
unequal quality
The studies used different and perhaps not comparable methods
Not all relevant studies give you the relevant statistics or information
Studies that had negative results may be in the trash or file drawer
somewhere and never published.
Survey Methods (see Workshop #16)
