11/6/2013

TOPIC: Data Collection

(Observation)
DR. CHITRAREKHA KABRE

Prof (Dr) Chitrarekha Kabre

The research process

Review the literature
Reviewtheliterature

Define
research
problem

Review
concepts
and
theories

Formulate
hypotheses

Design
research
(including
sample
design)

Collect
data

Analyse
data
(Test
hypothes
is if any )

Interpret
and
report

Review
previous
research
finding

Prof (Dr) Chitrarekha Kabre

11/6/2013

Primary

data can be collected either

through experiment or through survey
survey.
In case of survey, data can be collected:
1.
2.
3.
4
4.

By observation
By interviews
By questionnaires
Through schedules

The researcher should select one of these methods of

collecting the data taking into consideration the nature of
investigation, objective and scope of the inquiry, financial
resources, available time and the desired degree of accuracy.
Prof (Dr) Chitrarekha Kabre

Observation involves the systematic and careful

observation of subjects, objects, or phenomena in their
natural
at al setting.
etti
Observation generates data about peoples activities
and the relationships needed to sustain them; about
regularities of behaviour; about expected uses; new
uses; and misuses of a place; and about behavioural
opportunities and constraints that environment
provides.
The technique is particularly useful in the field of
architecture and urban design although it is extensively
used in social and ethnographic research
The technique is useful where respondents are not able
to giving verbal reports of their feelings

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Scientific observation

when it serves a formulated research purpose

Is systematically planned and recorded
Is subject to checks and controls on validity and reliability

Merits

Subjective bias is eliminated

The information obtained relates to what is currently

happening, not influenced by past behaviour and future

intentions or attitudes
Independent of respondents willingness

Demerits

Expensive
Information is limited
Unforseen factors may influence the observations

Observing

behaviour is empathetic and

direct deals with a dynamic subject,
direct,
subject and
allows observers to be variably intrusive.
These qualities make the method useful at
the beginning of research to generate
hunches, in the middle to document
regularities, and late in a research project to
locate key explanatory information.

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Empathetic: Researchers observing people soon

get a feeling for the character of a situation.
P i i
Participant
observation
b
i
allows
ll
researchers
h
to get
into a setting. Empathy can be taken too far;
observers runs the risk of overlooking differences
between people.
Direct : Respondents often hesitate to report when
they break formal rules, breaks informal rules
(example - Chandigarh Brolin 1972). Respondents
also tend not to report to interviewers activity they
think is trivial (ex-reading), Researchers can adjust
their observations to particular setting and to a
refined understanding of the situation.

Dynamic: Activities affect other activities; episodes takes

place, get a glimpse of the role of time in the life of an
environment.
environment
Variably intrusive Researchers have to decide how far they
will intrude and from what social and physical vantage point
they want to participate in observed events.
Choice of vantage points depends on research problem,
available time, and investigator skills. Unobtrusively-from a
distant-e.g. with a telephoto lens. To offset research bias
resulting from their presence, participant observers adopt
social
i l positions
iti
with
ith which
hi h people
l are familiar.
f ili In
I a hospital,
h
it l
sitting in the waiting room like a patient; in a restaurant,
working as a waitress or being a customer. However,
observers record any incident in which people may be
reacting differently because the observers are present in
their adopted position.

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Sometimes called direct or non participant observation.

The observer in this type is considered an OUTSIDER.
O e can
One
ca
diffe e tiate two
differentiate
t o types
t e
of naturalistic
at ali tic
observation:
the secret outsider The distant observer unobserved
by participants in a natural setting is a secret outsider.
Their position also raises ethical questions.
the recognized outsider may affect action in unknown
ways (Hawthorne effect, ethical commitment to respect
privacy, mistrust) Hawthorne effect (derived from
environmental experiments at the Western Electric
Companys Hawthorne plant in Chicago, where
Roethlisberger and Dixon 1939 wanted to determine,
among other things, how lighting levels affected
workers productivity.)

Participant observation is when the observer is an

INSIDER. One can differentiate two types of
participant
i i
observation:
b
i
the marginal participant : patient in a hospital waiting

room, another subway rider, or another art student

drawing in a park, bus passenger, audience at a street
concert and restaurant patrons.
the full participant: resident of a neighbourhood, taking
jobs as office clerks and typists, waitress in a restaurant

Concerns with p
participant
p
observation
A serious ethical concern arises when dealing with
participant observation. Would the participant
observer be considered cheating on the community
that he became involved with?

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Zeisel (1984) summarizes the important items to look for

during the observation of environmental behavior.
Elements
Ele e t iin e
environmental
i o e tal behaviour
beha io
Who is: Actor
Doing what: Act
With whom: Significant Others
In what relationship: describes the relationship between
the actor and the others such as aural, visual, tactile,
olfactory, or symbolic type relationship
In what context: describes the sociocultural context
including the situation and culture
Where (Setting): describes the physical setting , props,
spatial relations

What to look for?

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Notations are basically written description of the observed

behavior. The notation could be in the form of one sentence to
which the researcher can add comments later.
later
Pre-coded checklists are ready-made charts that include
expected types of observations and a designed coding system
to be used on the field.
Mapping observed behavior is a well known technique called
behavioral mapping, which is an annotated diagram or map of
observed behavior.
Still Photographs can capture subtleties that other methods
may not record; the way someone sits on a chair or leans against
a column;
l
the
h way two persons avoid
id llooking
ki at each
h other
h b
by
adjusting their body postures.
Video tapes and movies useful to capture dynamic events,
urban design of streets for handicapped and older people,
design a safe escalator

Observation of physical traces is a particularly useful techniques in

architecture and urban design. The simplicity and unobtrusiveness of the
techniques makes it one of the easiest data gathering to conduct.
conduct It could be
used to gather data in early stages of the research such as for exploration or
it can be used in detailed and information extensive data gathering.
What to look for?
Zeisel (1984) summarizes the important items to look for during the
observation of physical traces. They are:
By-products of use: including signs of erosions, leftovers, and missing traces
Adaptations for use: including props, separations, and connections
Displays of self: including personalization, identification, and group
membership
Public messages: including official, unofficial, and illegitimate signs
Context: understand how traces clarify the context and how the context
clarifies the traces.
Recording devices
Observations can be recorded using photographs, drawings, annotated
diagrams, or counting (Zeisel, 1984).

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Naturalistic

Participant

Trace

Emphatic (feel for

the character)

Emphatic (feel for

the character)

Imageable
(suggests ideas)

Direct

Direct

Easy

Variably intrusive

Unobtrusive (no
influence on
behavior)

Unobtrusive (no
influence on
behavior)

Dynamic

Dynamic

Durable (do not

quickly disappear)