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Chapter 19
Observation and
Interviewing
Presented by Tracy Hanzal
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
All rights reserved.
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Observation


Certain kinds of research questions can best
be answered by observing how people act or
how things look.
There are four different roles an observer can
take:
1) Participant Observation
2) Non-Participant Observation
3) Naturalistic Observation
4) Simulations
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Participant vs. Non-Participant Observation

Participant Observation

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the researcher actually participates as an active
member of the group in the situation or setting they are
observing
complete participant (covert)
participant-as-observer (overt)
Non-Participant Observation



the researcher does not participate in an activity or
situation, but observes “from the sidelines”
observer-as-participant
complete observer
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

Naturalistic
Observation

involves observing
individuals in their
natural settings

no effort to
manipulate
variables or
control settings
Simulation

an artificially created situation in which subjects are
asked to act out certain roles
 individual role playing
 team role playing
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Variations in Approaches
to Observation
Role of the Observer
Full-participant
observation
Partial
participation
Onlooker;
observer is an outsider
How the Observer Is Portrayed to Others
Participants know
that observations are being
made and they know who is
making them.
Some but not
all of the
participants
know the observer.
Participants do not know
that observations are being
made or that there is
someone observing them.
How the Purpose of the Observation Is Portrayed to Others
The purpose of the
observation is fully explained
to all involved.
The purpose of the
observation is
explained to some of
the participants.
No explanation is
given to any of the
participants.
False explanations are
given; participants are
deceived about the
purpose of the
observation.
Duration of the Observations
A single observation of limited
duration (e.g., 30 minutes).
Multiple observations; long-term
duration (e.g., months, even years).
Focus of the Observations
Narrow focus: Only a single
element or characteristic is observed.
Broad focus: Holistic view of the activity or
characteristic being observed and all of
its elements is sought.
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Observer Effect

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observer can have a considerable effect on the
behavior of those being observed, and affect the
outcome of the study
Bernard (2000)
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“catch a glimpse of people in their natural behavior before
they see you coming”.
it is quite likely that the observer will have some form
of effect upon the individuals being observed
participants should not be informed of the study’s
purpose until after data has been collected
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Observer concerns

Observer bias
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
Observer expectations

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refers to the possibility that certain characteristics or
ideas of observers may bias what they “see”
when researchers know to observe certain
characteristics of subjects.
Comparing notes or impressions among other
researchers assists in reducing this threat

second observer
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Importance of a Second Observer
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Coding Observational Data
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Coding scheme
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a set of categories an observer uses to record a
person’s or group’s behavior
used to measure interactions between parents and
adolescents in a lab setting
an observer still must choose what to observe, even
with a fixed coding scheme
these data are coded into categories that emerge as
the analysis proceeds

ethnographic research
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Amidon/Flanders Scheme
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The Use of Technology

Video or digital recording
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Advantages

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permits researcher to view behavior repeatedly
 decide how to code later
files may be replayed for continued study or analysis
other researchers can offer insight
Disadvantages

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requires training or technicians (expensive)
may distort behaviors by those being observed
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Interviewing


an important way for a researcher to check the
accuracy of the impressions he or she gained
through observation
Fetterman (1989)
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describes interviewing as the most important datacollection technique for qualitative research
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Types of Interviews

There are four types of interviews:
1)
Structured
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2)
Semistructured
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3)
Verbal questionnaires, formal series of questions designed to elicit
specific answers on the part of respondents
Best conducted near the end of a study
Informal
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4)
Verbal questionnaires, formal series of questions designed to elicit
specific answers on the part of respondents
Most useful for obtaining information to test a hypothesis
Less formal than the previous methods
Casual conversations, pursuing the interests of both parties
Considered the most common form of interviewing
Retrospective
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Can be all of the above
Tries to get the respondent to recall and reconstruct from memory
something from the past
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Types of Interview Questions
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Patton (1990)
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identified six types of interview questions:
1) Background/demographic questions
2) Knowledge questions
3) Experience/behavior questions
4) Opinion/values questions
5) Feelings questions
6) Sensory questions
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Interviewing Behavior
A set of expectations exists for all interviews:

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Respect the culture of
the group being studied
Respect the individual
being interviewed
Be natural
Develop an appropriate
rapport with the
participant
Ask one question at a
time
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© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Ask the same question in
different ways during
the interview
Ask the interviewee to
repeat an answer when
in doubt
Vary who controls the
flow of communication
Avoid leading questions
Don’t interrupt
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Interview of Dubious Validity
© 2012 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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Don’t Ask More Than One Question
at a Time
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Validity and Reliability
in Qualitative Research
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important check on the validity and reliability
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Triangulation
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compare one informant’s description of something with another
informant’s description of the same thing
a check on reliability/validity by comparing different information on
the same topic
Efforts should be made to ensure reliability and validity
 Proper vocabulary
 Recording questions and personal reaction
 Describing content and documenting sources
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Qualitative Research Questions, Strategies, and
Data-Collection Techniques
Purpose of the Study
Exploratory
 To investigate a littleunderstood event, situation,
or circumstance
 To identify or discover
important variables
 To generate hypotheses for
further research
Descriptive
 To document an event,
situation, or circumstance of
interest
Explanatory
 To explain the forces
causing an event, situation,
or circumstance
 To identify plausible causal
networks shaping an event,
situation, or circumstance
Predictive
 To predict the outcome of an
event, situation, or
circumstance
 To forecast behaviors or
actions that might result
from an event, situation, or
circumstance
Possible Research
Questions
What is happening in this
school?
 What are the important
themes or patterns in the ways
teachers behave in this school?
 How are these themes or
patterns linked together?
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What are the important
behaviors, events, attitudes,
processes, and/or structures
occurring in this school?
What events, beliefs, attitudes,
and/or policies are shaping the
nature of this school?
 How do these forces interact to
shape this school?

What is likely to occur in the
future as a result of the policies
now in place at this school?
 Who will be affected, and in what
ways?
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Research
Strategies
Examples of DataCollection Techniques
Case study
Observation
Field study
Participant observation
Non-participant observation
In-depth interviewing
Selected interviewing
Case study
Field study
Ethnography
Observation
Participant observation
Non-participant observation
In-depth interviewing
Written questionnaire
Content analysis
Case study
Field study
Ethnography
Participant observation
Non-participant observation
In-depth interviewing
Written questionnaire
Content analysis
Observation
Interview
In-depth interviewing
Written questionnaire
Content analysis
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