Solution Manual for Methods in Behavioral Research, 14th Edition, Paul Cozby, Scott Bates

Solution Manual for Methods in Behavioral Research,

14th Edition, Paul Cozby, Scott Bates

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Chapter 6: Observational Methods
Learning Objectives

• Compare quantitative and qualitative methods of describing behavior.

• Describe naturalistic observation and discuss methodological issues such as participation
and concealment.
• Describe systematic observation and discuss methodological issues such as the use of
equipment, reactivity, reliability, and sampling.
• Describe the features of a case study.
• Describe archival research and the sources of archival data: statistical records, survey
archives, and written records.

Brief Chapter Outline

I. Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches

II. Naturalistic Observation
A. Description and Interpretation of Data
B. Participation and Concealment
C. Limits of Naturalistic Observation
III. Systematic Observation
A. Coding Systems
B. Methodological Issues
1. Equipment
2. Reactivity
3. Reliability
4. Sampling
IV. Case Studies
V. Archival Research
A. Statistical Records
B. Survey Archives
C. Written and Mass Communication Records

Extended Chapter Outline

Please note that much of this information is quoted from the text.
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I. Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches

Qualitative research focuses on people behaving in natural settings and describing their world in
their own words; quantitative research tends to focus on specific behaviors that can be easily
quantified (i.e., counted).

II. Naturalistic Observation

In a study using naturalistic observation, the researcher makes observations of individuals in

their natural environments (the field). This research approach has roots in anthropology and the
study of animal behavior and is currently widely used in the social sciences to study many
phenomena in all types of social and organizational settings.

A. Description and Interpretation of Data

The goal of naturalistic observation is to provide a complete and accurate picture of what
occurred in the setting, rather than to test hypotheses formed prior to the study. To achieve
this goal, the researcher must keep detailed field notes—that is, write or dictate on a regular
basis (at least once each day) everything that has happened.

B. Participation and Concealment

Because participant observation allows the researcher to observe the setting from the inside,
he or she may be able to experience events in the same way as natural participants. The
decision of whether to conceal one’s purpose or presence depends on both ethical concerns
and the nature of the particular group and setting being studied. Sometimes a participant
observer is nonconcealed to certain members of the group, who give the researcher
permission to be part of the group as a concealed observer.

C. Limits of Naturalistic Observation

The approach is most useful when investigating complex social settings both to understand
the settings and to develop theories based on the observations. It is less useful for studying
well-defined hypotheses under precisely specified conditions.

III. Systematic Observation

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Systematic observation refers to the careful observation of one or more specific behaviors in a
particular setting. This research approach is much less global than naturalistic observation
research.

A. Coding Systems

Numerous behaviors can be studied using systematic observation. The researcher must
decide which behaviors are of interest, choose a setting in which the behaviors can be
observed, and most important, develop a coding system to measure the behaviors.

B. Methodological Issues

1. Equipment

It is becoming more common to use video and audio recording equipment to make such
observations because they provide a permanent record of the behavior observed that can
be coded later.

2. Reactivity

A second issue is reactivity—the possibility that the presence of the observer will affect
people’s behaviors (see the chapter “Measurement Concepts”). Reactivity can be
reduced by concealed observation.

3. Reliability

Reliable measures are stable, consistent, and precise. When conducting systematic
observation, two or more raters are usually used to code behavior. Reliability is
indicated by a high agreement among the raters.

4. Sampling

For many research questions, samples of behavior taken over an extended period
provide more accurate and useful data than single, short observations.

IV. Case Studies

A case study is an observational method that provides a detailed description of an individual.

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This individual is usually a person, but it may also be a setting such as a business, school, or
neighborhood. A psychobiography is a type of case study in which a researcher applies
psychological theory to explain the life of an individual, usually an important historical figure.

V. Archival Research

Archival research involves using previously compiled information to answer research questions.
In an archival research project, the researcher does not actually collect the original data. Instead,
he or she analyzes existing data such as statistics that are part of publicly accessible records.

A. Statistical Records

Statistical records are collected by many public and private organizations. The U.S. Census
Bureau maintains the most extensive set of statistical records available, but state and local
agencies also maintain such records.

B. Survey Archives

Survey archives consist of data from surveys that are stored digitally and available to
researchers who wish to analyze them. Major polling organizations make many of their
surveys available.

C. Written and Mass Communication Records

Written records are documents such as diaries and letters that have been preserved by
historical societies, ethnographies of other cultures written by anthropologists, and public
documents as diverse as speeches by politicians or discussion board messages left by
Internet users.

Content analysis is the systematic analysis of existing documents. Like systematic

observation, content analysis requires researchers to devise coding systems that raters can
use to quantify the information in the documents.

Illustrative Article: Observational Methods

After reading the article, consider the following:

1. What was measured?

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 a. How did the researchers operationally define small talk, substantive talk, well-being, and
happiness? What do you think about the quality of these operational definitions?

Student answers will vary. They should include each of the four terms and its definition, then
give evidence from the article about how the researchers created their operational definitions.
They should also include a personal opinion about the quality of each of the operational
definitions.

b. Do you think that participants would be reactive to this data collection method?

Student answers will vary. They should express their own ideas, based on their understanding
of the issue of reactivity, about the ways in which participants might be affected by data
collection.

c. How reliable were the coders? How did the authors assess their reliability?

Student answers will vary. They should show how their conclusions about coder reliability
are supported in the article. They should also include a description of the way the authors
measured the coders’ reliability, citing evidence from the article.

2. How do they know that one thing caused another?

a. Does this study suffer from the third-variable problem? How so?

Student answers will vary. They should demonstrate knowledge of the third-variable
problem, take a stand on the problem in relation to this study, and support their answers with
evidence and examples from the article.

b. Do you think that this study included any confounding variables? Provide examples.

Student answers will vary. They should clearly address the question about whether they think
the direction of causation is problematic. After taking a stand, they should also support their
answers with evidence and examples from the article about how and why the direction of
causation is or is not problematic in this case.
c. Does this study suffer from the problem involving the direction of causation? How so?

Student answers will vary.

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3. To what or whom can we generalize the results?

a. Do you think that this study would generalize across cultures, age groups, or other sorts of
demographic variables? Why or why not?

Student answers will vary.

4. Have other researchers found similar results?

a. Do the results of this study line up with other studies on the same topic?

Student answers will vary.

5. Finally, answer the following questions:

a. Is the basic approach in this study qualitative or quantitative?

Student answers will vary. They should demonstrate understanding of the two approaches as
they apply to the study in the article.

b. Given the topic of this study, what other ways can you think of to conduct this study using
an observational method?

Student answers will vary. They should demonstrate an awareness of observational methods
in general and clearly express ideas about alternative ways to conduct the study in the article.
Answers will make a case for the stand taken by providing reasons and examples relevant to
the study.

c. Is this study an example of concealed or nonconcealed observation? What are the ethical
issues present in this study?

Student answers will vary. They should identify the type of observation and give evidence to
support their choice. Their answers should also discuss the study’s ethics, with examples of
the ethical challenges raised.

Sample Answers for Review Questions

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1. What is the difference between qualitative and quantitative approaches to studying behavior?

Qualitative research focuses on people behaving in natural settings and describing their world in
their own words; quantitative research tends to focus on specific behaviors that can be easily
quantified (i.e., counted).

2. What is naturalistic observation? How does a researcher collect data when conducting
naturalistic observation research?

Naturalistic observation is a descriptive method in which observations are made in a natural

social setting. In a study using naturalistic observation, the researcher makes observations of
individuals in their natural environments (the field). The observations are made in natural
settings and the researcher does not attempt to influence what occurs in the settings.

3. Why are the data in naturalistic observation research primarily qualitative?

The data are the descriptions of the observations themselves rather than quantitative statistical
summaries.

4. Distinguish between participant and nonparticipant observation; between concealed and

nonconcealed observation.

Participant observation allows the researcher to observe the setting from the inside, while a
nonparticipant observer is an outsider who does not become an active part of the setting.
Concealed observation is less reactive than nonconcealed observation because people are not
aware that their behaviors are being observed and recorded.

5. What is systematic observation? Why are the data from systematic observation primarily
quantitative?

Systematic observation is an observation of one or more specific variables, usually made in a

precisely defined setting.

6. What is a coding system? What are some important considerations when developing a coding
system?

A coding system is a set of rules used to categorize observations. The researcher must decide
which behaviors are of interest, choose a setting in which the behaviors can be observed, and
most important, develop a coding system to measure the behaviors.

7. What is a case study? When are case studies used? What is a psychobiography?

A case study is a descriptive account of the behavior, past history, and other relevant factors
concerning a specific individual. Typically, a case study is done when an individual possesses a
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particularly rare, unusual, or noteworthy condition. A psychobiography is a type of case study in
which the life of an individual is analyzed using psychological theory.

8. What is archival research? What are the major sources of archival data?

Archival research is the use of existing sources of information for research. Sources include
statistical records, survey archives, and written records.

9. What is content analysis?

Content analysis is the systematic analysis of recorded communications.

Sample Answers for Critical Thinking: Being a Skilled Consumer of Research

1. Some questions are more readily answered using quantitative techniques, and others are best
addressed through qualitative techniques or a combination of both approaches. Suppose you
are interested in how an adolescent’s life is affected by their parent’s alcoholism. Develop a
research question best answered using quantitative techniques and another research question
better suited to qualitative techniques. An example of a quantitative question is, “Are
adolescents with alcoholic parents more likely to have criminal records?” and an example of
a qualitative question is, “What issues can arise in an adolescent’s peer relationships due to
their parent’s alcoholism?”

Students’ answers will vary. A student interested in how a parent’s alcoholism affects the
life of an adolescent might give an example of a quantitative question such as, “Do
adolescents with alcoholic parents have lower grades in school?” An example of a
qualitative question might be, “What types of emotional problems do adolescents of
alcoholic parents deal with?”

2. One of the most important case studies ever conducted was about Henry Molaison (H.M.),
who suffered from epilepsy and, as the result of surgery, lost his normal memory functioning.
H.M. was studied from the 1950s until his death in 2008. A new book, written by his
grandson, sheds some light on H.M.’s experiences as one of the quintessential case studies in
the history of psychology (Dittrich, 2016). Search for and summarize at least two reviews of
this book.

An effective activity would be to divide students into groups and assign each group the job of
finding a review of the referenced book. Ask them to work together to prepare a summary of
that review. Each group then presents its review to the class, along with two to three
questions for classmates about how they feel the book addresses the implications, ethical or
otherwise, of H.M.’s experiences as a case study subject. Some groups may choose the same
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 review, which will make different interpretations interesting, but it is worthwhile to check
during the selection process so there is some variety.

Laboratory Demonstration: Systematic Observation

Give students experience with systematic observation using a simple coding system for easily
identifiable behaviors. This can be done in the lab or by having students explore the campus in
pairs at predetermined locations (e.g., library, science building, the student union, etc.). Allow 30–
45 min for data collection. Determine how many observations each pair needs to collect. When
students return, analyze the data and discuss relevant and plausible interpretations. Here are some
ideas for the kinds of observations students could make.

Eyeblink Rate

Is eyeblink rate associated with anxiety or level of attention? Instructors can test whether blinking
increases in rate as the level of anxiety increases or whether blinking rate decreases as the level of
attention increases. Using a time-sample approach, have students record the number of eyeblinks
for a particular participant during a 30-s period. In lab, this could be done while students are
reading a story about car and purse thefts on campus versus reading about a new campus art exhibit
or some other nonthreatening campus activity. To examine attention, students can read material for
details or general meaning. Other alternatives are possible if instructors want students to observe
behavior in natural settings. If the campus has an eating establishment, students could record a
participant’s blink rate when fifth in line to order and again when second in line to order.
Presumably, anxiety increases as the time to order approaches. Another idea would be to observe
eyeblinks of males and females studying in the library as well as sitting in the student union. Or
students could observe the blink rate of a female in a female-female dyad and then the blink rate of
a female in a male-female dyad. Do the same with male participants.

Restroom Graffiti

Have students look for graffiti in various restrooms on campus (if instructors are quite dedicated,
they could scout them out ahead of time to identify those restrooms that in fact display graffiti).
First have students decide on a coding system. This could be very simple, such as sexual versus
nonsexual, or it could be complex, such as political, heterosexual, homosexual, references to the
college or education, and “other.” Students will then “sample” restrooms to visit. Finally, students
should go in pairs to categorize the graffiti found in restrooms (this procedure can be explained in
terms of reliability). Compare male and female restrooms to see if the type of graffiti is related to

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gender of the graffiti author. Discuss whether the coding system was adequate.

Activity: Observational Methods in a Bar

If there is a drinking establishment on campus or near campus, students could replicate or expand
upon the procedures used in the Geller, Russ, and Altomari (1986) study that were described in
Chapter 2. This activity is useful for constructing coding systems and discussing descriptive
statistics.

Activity: Survey Archives

The campus may have survey archives such as the General Social Survey on the mainframe
computer. Also, more survey databases are available for analysis on microcomputers. Students can
be shown how to access information in these databases and even test simple hypotheses. This is
especially interesting if you are operating the computer and the students are selecting the variables
to examine.

Additional Discussion Topics

Discussion: Deception of Subjects

As discussed in prior chapters, the deception of subjects is often necessary. Ask students how
many of them were deceived when they participated in subject pool experiments on campus. Do
they think deception was necessary?

Discussion: Coding Qualitative Data

This is a great time to discuss the issues involved in making qualitative data quantitative. Whereas
Social Psych data may be largely based on surveys using Likert-type scales (meaning it is largely
quantitative), areas such as Developmental Psychology tend to be more heavily qualitative.
Describe to students the following: a group of developmental researchers is interested in when
mental representations form so they give a toy phone to a group of 12-month-olds, 18-month-olds,
and 24-month-olds. The 12-month-olds bang the phone and drool on it. The 18-month-olds bang
the phone but occasionally put it to their heads. The 24-month-olds hold it to their ear and talk into
it. Ask students: Is this qualitative or quantitative? How could they make this quantitative?

Suggested Readings

Articles in the Handbook for Teaching Statistics and Research Methods (2nd ed.)
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Solution Manual for Methods in Behavioral Research, 14th Edition, Paul Cozby, Scott Bates

Goldstein, M. D., Hopkins, J. R., & Strube, M. J. (1994). “The eye of the beholder”: A classroom
demonstration of observer bias. Teaching of Psychology, 21, 154–157.

Herzog, H. A. (1988). Naturalistic observation of behavior: A model system using mice in a

colony. Teaching of Psychology, 15, 200–202.

Krehbiel, D., & Lewis, P. T. An observational emphasis in undergraduate psychology laboratories.

Teaching of Psychology, 21, 45–48.

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