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Research Methods

Decent Essays

Research Methods
Jessica
February 2012

What is the difference between direct and indirect observational methods of research? Direct observation is when researchers observe the behavior while it is occurring. Indirect (unobtrusive) observation is when researchers examine physical traces and archival records. (Zechmeister, Zechmeister, & Shaughnessy 2001) Direct observation of behavior can be seen in simply psychology: question and answer, as well as simple observation of a person’s daily activities. The researcher can choose to change the atmosphere, or change the study to intervene and observe the changes, while indirect observations main goal is to be unseen and non-influential on the behavior that is being observed as to take …show more content…

He has not looked into if this study has been performed before, or any other studies like it. And, as I said before, he doesn’t have any background information on the subjects themselves, which isn’t exactly necessary, but could be helpful in his conclusion. He comes up with a quick and inadequate hypothesis and then jumps into testing this with his experiment.
His experiment is short lived and, though it gives him positive results, these are the results he was looking for. There in lies another bias problem. He went into the experiment, observing others behavior as well as his own, wanting a certain outcome. Rather than creating a useful test study he created a game for himself. He most likely felt that he NEEDED to have the conversation come to a friendly outcome to prove his point, rather than take in information to decide if he even had a valid point to begin with. This is why he needs a separate observer, or a separate confederate, not himself, to distinguish a more open view of his original question.
He then takes his biased results and configures a positive conclusion based on his findings. Though he has convinced himself, these findings would not hold up in the scientific world. There is too much vagueness, bias, and also self-gratification in his conclusion to give this a scientific stamp of approval.
I would not choose a

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