Research Methods- Chapter 4 - CHAPTER 4: METHODS OF...

CHAPTER 4: METHODS OF SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION
What Is Meant By Systematic Observation?
o Example: Were the attentive and focused on the instructions and the
experimental task? Or did they seem uninterested and distracted?
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1 Chapter Four

How Do Researchers Simultaneously Participate and Observe?
 A traditional procedure in qualitative research is participant observation
o Participant refers to the investigator as opposed to the research
participant
o Example study of participant observation study: a team of social
psychologists observed a cult from within (as members) for 2 months
 Leon Festinger (1957), the noted social psychologist who developed the
theory of cognitive dissonance, cited the observations as evidence of how
people sometimes cling to ridiculous beliefs even in the face of dissonant
events by seeking out new reasons to justify their beliefs
 Classic participant observation study by David Rosenhan (1973)
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