Seeing, understanding,

describing
Observation Lecture
maaike.de.jong@stenden.com

The road to research

Qualitative research
The word quality refers to the
nature of the data you collect
It does not refer to quality in an
evaluative sense qualitative
research does not imply good
research

Today: Seeing, understanding,

describing
1) Seeing perception and optical
illusion
2) Understanding interpretation of
the meaning of what you see
3) Describing reporting and
justification

1) Seeing

How well can you count?

Students on the left:
How often is the ball tossed between youth with a
white shirt?

Students on the right:

How often is the ball tossed between youth with a
black shirt?

Students who already know the answer,

wont say a thing

What happens?

Look at the screen for 20 seconds.

Notice anything?

Did you see it properly?

You dont always see what is there
You dont always know what you see
You dont always see everything
selective perception

Test your knowledge

What is perception in psychology?
A) Receiving visual stimuli
B) Perception is a process in which people select,
categorize and interpret to form a meaningful image of
this world
C) Everything is perception

Test your knowledge

What is perception in psychology?
A) Receiving visual stimuli
B) Perception is a process in which people select,
categorize and interpret to form a meaningful image
of this world
C) Everything is perception

2) Understanding

If you were a
martian, would you
understand the
following images?

Holland Casino commercial

Purpose of observation
A research method that involves the
systematic observation, recording,
description, analysis and interpretation of
peoples behavior
(Saunders, 2012)

So we can make reliable statements

about that behavior

Theory and model

A model is a very short way
to summarize a theory
For instance: M S (motivation
influences success)
L M (leadership influences
motivation)

Theory and model

L M S (this would mean
leadership eventually leads to
success, unless motivation is also
caused by other factors, such as
personality)
L M S

Theory and model

A theory contains a number of
statements about the world that are
connected with one another and that
we can test to be true or false
What statements belong to the
theme your group has picked?

Symbolic interactionism
This world already has meaning, before we
enter it
You begin to understand peoples actions, once
you know which meaning they attribute to them
Participant observation is a way to do this

Participant observation
Gaining trust,
Becoming a member of the group
Understanding group processes, rituals
and meaning through experience
Systematically document observations
and experiences systematically

Typology pf participant observation

researcher roles
Participant as
observer

Complete
participant

Observer as
participant

Complete observer

Test your knowledge

What is an important difference between
participant observation and structured
observation?
A) In participant observation, the researchers distance is
larger
B)In structured observation, the researchers distance is
larger
C) Structured observation is reliable, participant
observation is not

I dont see any

What is not there, is a conclusion you

draw on the basis of what you did
see and what you would expect to
see (theoretically)

3) Describing reporting
Introduction

(problem statement: context, main question,

purpose)

Theory

(theoretical framework - Robbins, Judge & Campbell;

Saunders)

Method (advantages and disadvantages)

Resultaten (description and analysis)
Conclusion & discussion (answer to your question)
Literature

Method & methodology

Method

Methodology

The way in which you

perform research and
the means you use for
it

The theory about how

research should be
performed

(How to )

(Why so and not

differently)

There is no perfect research

What can go wrong?

Observer error
Systematic errors made by observers, as a result of
tiredness for instance

Observer bias
This may occur when observers give inaccurate
responses in order to distort the results of the research

Observer effect
The impact of being observed on how people act

Test your knowledge (3)

What is meant with validity?
A) The amount in which the instrument used for
research measures what it is intended to
measure
B) The amount in which the instrument used for
research measures the same thing under similar
circumstances it
C) The amount in which there is an even spread of
data among members of the population

Test your knowledge (3)

What is meant with validity?
A) The amount in which the instrument used
for research measures what it is intended
to measure
B) The amount in which the instrument used for
research measures the same thing under similar
circumstances it
C) The amount in which there is an even spread of
data among members of the population

Reliability
Reliability is a precondition for validity

A scale can be reliable, but its not a valid

instrument to measure length

It is a

small

study

You bake a small cookie, but not a whole

supply for all students in Stenden
Avoid questions like: what is the
influence of
Keep it small and manageable
describe a couple of instances carefully
and connect them to the theory