Naturalistic Observation

IS IT GO OUT INTO NATURE?

NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION
SYSTEMATIC STUDY OF A PERSON IN HER OWN

ENVIRONMENT ADVANTAGES

REAL LIFE SCIENTIFIC

DISADVANTAGES

OBSERVER BIAS BEHAVIOR DEPENDS ONN TIME, PLACE AND OTHER FACTORS

Case studies
An intense study of one person or one group. Generally an intense study of

one person to get a thorough understanding of the past to understand the present
May combine a number of methodologies Advantages

Allows for complex tasks in research

Disadvantages

Observer bias

Extra credit option

Interview
Subject and psychologist interact verbally
May be structured or unstructured Disadvantage

Takes a lot of time Closed ended questions Personalized

Advantage

Survey Method
Carefully selected groups (random selection)
Large numbers at one point Relevant answers Impersonal answers that may not be truthful

Testing Method
Use to collect and compare peoples behaviors
Numerous types of test- numerous uses

Skills Aptitudes Interest Personality Intelligence

Correlation

EXPERIMENTAL
Noted most for using the scientific Method Start with Hypothesis Select subject

How- again randomly Experimental group Control group Independent variable Dependent variable

Variables

Watch out for experimental bias Final steps analyze the hypothesis

Introduction to the Scientific Method

The scientific method is the process by which scientists, collectively and over time, endeavor to construct an accurate (that is, reliable, consistent and non-arbitrary) representation of the world. Recognizing that personal and cultural beliefs influence both our perceptions and our interpretations of natural phenomena, we aim through the use of standard procedures and criteria to minimize those influences when developing a theory. As a famous scientist once said, "Smart people (like smart lawyers) can come up with very good explanations for mistaken points of view." In summary, the scientific method attempts to minimize the influence of bias or prejudice in the experimenter when testing an hypothesis or a theory.

Method has four steps 1. Observation and description of a phenomenon or group of phenomena. 2. Formulation of an hypothesis to explain the phenomena. In physics, the hypothesis often takes the form of a causal mechanism or a mathematical relation. 3. Use of the hypothesis to predict the existence of other phenomena, or to predict quantitatively the results of new observations. 4. Performance of experimental tests of the predictions by several independent experimenters and properly performed experiments.

APA Ethics For Human Research

You must protect participants from physical or psychological harm. You must ensure that information about individual participants does not become public. You must not coerce people to be participants. You must ensure that participants know and understand what is involved. When using children, you must gain permission from parents, and you must exercise extra caution. Information about participants must be held in confidence. At the end of the experiment, you must explain the study to each participant, especially if you have used deception in any form. All participants in an experiment should share equally in any beneficial outcomes.