PO217 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Observational Error
Document Summary
Intend to solve both reactivity problem and the access problem. This type of observational study raises significant ethical issues (lack of informed consent, deception, violation of privacy) It does not necessarily solve the reactivity problem (the researcher"s own behavior may affect the behavior under study) There is a risk getting caught up in the assumed role: participant-as-observer (obtrusive) Intended to resolve the ethical issue, but poses problems of reactivity 3. Researcher identifies him or herself as a researcher and makes no pretense of being a participant: complete observer (unobtrusive-passive) Researcher observes behavior without becoming part of it in any way. Use of an observation/schedule protocol to focus on observation. Record as much as we can and interpret after observation. Identify observed behavior versus interpretation of behavior. Unreliability- ample opportunities for a random error and we cannot be sure that another researcher observing the same behavior would draw the same conclusion.
