Observational Study

1. The techniques used to study and provide a statistical data is called
observational techniques.

2.  What is an Observation?
 The act of making and recording a measurement is called observation.
 Observational Research:
 Observational research consists of systematic observation.
 It draws inferences about the possible effect of a treatment on subjects where the
subjects of treated group and control group is outside the control of the
investigator.
 Observational study consist of two components:
1. Retrospective:
 Observation of the event that happened in past.
2. Concurrent:
 Observation of the event that is happening currently.
 In observational study we have:
1. Stimulus variable:
 A variable that is being observed
 Example: Teaching style
2. Response option:
 The description of the trait:
 Example: good, bad, excellent.

3.  In studies of children, observational techniques are highly developed.
 Experiments that might alter children's lives would raise ethical
problems.
 Observational techniques can be done without disturbance.
 Following are examples of different observational techniques,
 Naturalistic observation: (that takes place in a natural or everyday setting
such as a school.)
 Controlled observation :(observational research, carried out under
carefully arranged conditions. Each subject is exposed to the same
situation, to see differences between individual reactions.)
 Standardized testing :( is a form of controlled observation using testing
procedures previously shown to be reliable and valid.)
 Clinical observation:(observations made by a skilled clinician interacting
with a patient or client. The clinician takes notes on the interaction,
usually immediately after the interview or meeting with the client.)

4.  Surveys and polling:
 In survey and polling, data are collected from large numbers
of subjects. A survey can be about anything. A poll usually
asks for opinions or value judgments. The goal of both is to
determine the characteristics of a larger population from a
relatively small sample.
◦ For example, you might conduct survey on a random sample
of students from your campus to determine their
attitudes towards various activites.
 Interviews:
◦ Interviews are structured conversations (that is, they
follow some pre-arranged plan or pattern). Interviews
can be combined with survey methods.
◦ For example, you might interview a random sample of
preschoolers from a town where a newsworthy event took
place, asking each child carefully worded questions to
determine his or her perception of the event.

5.  Microanalysis:
◦ It is a detailed analysis of very brief events.
Sometimes researchers notice interesting things
simply by slowing down a quick movement. This
can be done with video cameras set to capture
many images per second.
 For example:
◦ we can observe the body language more effectively if it is slow down with
the help of a video camera.

6.  Rating Scales:
 Rating scales is a technique in which the observer or Rater
categorize or rate the objects, events, or behavior of a person by
the series of continuous numerals.
 In Rating scales we observe the actual behavior and the
remembered behavior.
◦ Behavior:
 The aggregate of the responses or reactions or movements made by an
organism in any situation.
 It may be classified into two components:
1. Actual behavior:
 The behavior that is physically present.
2. Remembered behavior:
 The behavior shown in past.

7.  There are four types of Rating Scales:
1. Nominal Scale
2. Ordinal Scale
3. Interval Scale
4. Ratio Scale
 Nominal Scale:
◦ It is the lowest level of measurement in which we place data into
categories, without any order or structure.
 Characteristic:
 It is the most simple scale.
 It has no order or arrangement.
 Nominal scale is used to identify the objects only.
 In research activities a YES or NO scale is Nominal.
 Example:
◦ How many students are there in AWKUM?
 Suppose there are : 1000 students
 When categorized: 500 male and 500 female. (Nominal Scale)

8.  Ordinal scale:
 The orderly arrangement of objects is called ordinal
scale. (Label+order)
 The simplest ordinal scale is ranking.
◦ Characteristics:
 An ordinal scale only lets you interpret gross order and
not the relative positional distance.
 This arrangement does not mean that one object is better
than the other.
 Example: which shampoo is commonly used in Mardan?
1. Clear 2. Head & shoulder 3. Susilk
◦ In this example we don’t mean that which product is best, we just rank its
usage. This is just an ordinal scale of preference.

9.  Interval scale:
◦ In interval scale we categorize the data with its
intervals. (label+order+inerval)
 Characteristic:
 The interval may be zero, because in interval scale the zero is
called arbitrary zero, which means the zero also has some
value.
 For instance; a child gets zero marks in a subject, so it doesn’t
mean that he has no knowledge, he has some knowledge, but
due to some reasons he could not get marks.
 Example:
◦ we have some data,, 2,4,6,8, this data has an interval of 2.
 If its 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 this data has also an interval of 1.

10.  Ratio scale:
◦ The factor which clearly define Ratio scale is the
True zero. (Label+order+interval+true zero)
 Characteristic:
◦ Ratio scale is the top level of measurement and is
not often available in social research.
◦ It is mostly used in experimental research.
◦ In ratio scale the important thing is the true zero.
 Example:
◦ If the weight is zero .. It means true zero…Nothing
◦ If the length is zero .. It means true zero .. Nothing

11.  Observational techniques avoid the self-selection bias that often
distorts the data gathered by techniques such as surveys.
 Observational techniques In any group presented with a survey, the
people that choose to participate often fail to represent the group
adequately. This often captures both those that willingly participate
in non-observation research approaches and those who do not
normally participate
 Observational techniques can also provide a depth of information
lacking in other techniques, through questions prompted by the
observation itself.
 For example:
◦ A researcher observes a customer pick out a name-brand detergent and then opt for
a less expensive brand, the researcher can ask if the decision was financial or about
the intended use.

12.  It employs technology such as cameras and recording devices,
observational research represents a larger financial investment than
any other research methods.
 A true ethnographic study requires the participation of someone
with advanced anthropological training over a period lasting from
days to weeks.
 Data analysis can be time consuming, and observational research
often fails to provide insight into attitudes and motives.
 For example:
◦ A recording may show you how long a customer spends reading a package, but it
probably can’t provide you any insight into what, if any, portion of the packaging
contributed to a buying decision.

13.  The qualitative nature of the data gathered by observational
research limits how much the information generalizes.
 Everything from community norms to odd store design can
influence the results.
 Observational results often prove more effective when paired
with data gathered from other research methods, such as
focus groups and surveys.
 Multiple sources of data can help to level out skewed results,
and can even provide insight into the reasons.
 Customers choose to represent their decisions in a particular
light.
 The End.

14. Please don’t hesitate to ask.
Have any Question?