Considerations involved in setting up and carrying out an

observation. By: Rebecca Im, Shivangi Kakkar, Jaimie Kim,

Jacob L.W

“An observation is not just about ‘hanging out’. A researcher who decided to carry

out an observation must prepare it carefully.”

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Preparation of Observation O Researcher needs to find out about the problem under

investigation and set up a plan for the observationO Contacting people

O Researcher should also decide whether to conduct a participant or a non-participant observationO Important to decide early on exactly what to focus on “in the field”, while leaving space for certain flexibilityO Should become familiar with the environment

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Initial Decisions & Notes

O Should decide what types of notes to be taken during the observationO Descriptive: The researcher just observes what is happening

and does not make any inferencesO Inferential: The researcher makes inferences about what is

observed, including comments on individual reactions and expressions of emotion

O Evaluative: The researcher makes inferences and evaluates the behaviour

O Researcher should also be aware of their own position because this needs to be clear in relation to the reflections conducted during the research

O The researcher’s perspective may well influence the interpretation of the situationO This is acceptable in qualitative research as long as it is

declared openly

Classroom research 1Before experiment

O Pre-observational interviews with participants (teachers/students)

O Brief about purpose of research, what is going to occur during obsv.

O Present purpose, but some may not be revealed – The gender purpose could be said to be how teachers and students interact in the classroom, but not that the researcher is interested in how this affects the students’ motivation/interest, or whether /ethnicity influence teacher feedback.

O Contacts with participants before the obsv. can reduce unnatural behavior during obvs. Participant expectancy/reactivity is minimized.

Conducting the ObservationO The researcher meets with the participants and

establishes a rapport O Adjustment to the context, aware of ethical rules of conduct O In participant observations: important to be involved in the setting and with the people while staying analytical

O Goal: to preserve researcher objectivity so that the data collection is not influenced by selective perception

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Conduction the Observation Cont’d…

O Multiple observers are at an advantage because one observer may notice something that the other missed

O Risk: participants do not behave naturally = participant expectancy (or reactivity)

O The researcher may come to the investigation with an in-built bias (researcher bias or the Rosenthal effect) selective perceptions and a biased interpretation of the data

O Both factors influence credibility and validity of the data because the behavior of the observed person may be untypical of their normal behavior (lacks ecological validity)

O Can be counterbalanced by credibility checks

Classroom research 2During experiment

O During obvs. Researcher should provide highly detailed description of the interactions in the classroom in relation to each of the areas of interest.

O Ex. How the teacher gives feedback to indiv. children in relation to gender/minority groups.

O Ex. How children react to teacher. Facial/verbal expressions.

O Ex. Who is talking and who is not talking in the class.O Ex. If there is evidence that the students are learning

anything.O There should be notes for each focus area, and

should include space for reflections.

After the Observations

O The researcher can conduct post-observational interviews

O The participants must be debriefed unless the observations were covert

O Data analysis is carried out (e.g. using grounded theory based on field notes)

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Classroom research 3After experiment

O Obvs notes (maybe videos) must be analysed and synthesized.

O Include info from interviews conducted prior and after the obvs.

O Include info to place obvs in context – ex. Racism/gender inequality in wider society.