| What is participant observation? | It is when the observer is involved in the group that they are observing |
| What is non-participant observation? | The observer watches and records the behavior of the group without being actively involved. |
| What is covert observation? | Participants are unaware that they are being observed |
| What is overt observation? | When participants know that they are being observed |
| What is naturalistic observation? | An observation that is conducted in an everyday environment where the behavior that is being studied is normally seen. |
| What is controlled observation? | An observation carried out in a controlled or labatory environment |
| What is inter-rater reliability ? | When more than one observer codes behavior and their results are checked for consistency. |
| Strength of observations? | The reliability can be checked by inter-rater reliability as long as both observers use the same checklist. |
| Weakness of observations? | The observed behavior may not be clearly defined on the checklist / or the observer is not trained properly and this could lead to invalid results. |
| Strength of naturalistic observation? | Takes place in a natural setting and no manipulation by observer means high ecological validity. |
| Weakness of naturalistic observation? | Observers may interpret the behavior in different ways, so the results are subjective |
| Strength of controlled observation? | Due to the control of extraneous variables, should produce valid results |
| Weakness of controlled observation? | Lack ecological validity due to the artificial nature of the controlled environment |
| Strength of non-participant observation? | Easier to record behavior covertly seeing as the observers are not participating, the results should be valid |
| Weakness of non-participant observation? | More objective as they are not involved in the situation, only looking in |
| Weakness of participant observation? | Observer can become too involved, the results can be affected by observer bias |
| Weakness of participant observation? | Ppt's can change their behavior if they know they are being observed, this can effect the validity of the results. |
