Page 142 - Data Science class 11
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• Researchers can gather bonafide data and keep at arm's length any possible problems with self-reported data.
Disadvantages
Some disadvantages associated with naturalistic observation are:
• You lose control over various variables, it becomes difficult to replicate the study, and testing for reliability becomes
difficult.
• It may be difficult to conduct this study on a large scale.
• You have to use talented and skilled researchers, so you don’t risk missing behavioural data which is critical in nature.
• You are unable to manipulate any variable.
Participant Observation
This is a type of naturalistic observation wherein market researchers observe participants in their natural habitat.
Market researchers will involve themselves too in the environment.
Advantages
Some advantages of this type of observation are:
• Some of the variables can be controlled by you by being part of the natural environment.
• Despite the fact that participants are aware you are a part of the study, you can still observe them in their natural
environment.
• By using this observation method, you can prevent incorrect self-reporting of data.
Disadvantages
The following are the limitations of this type of study:
• It can be difficult to take notes openly as a market researcher without blowing your cover.
• If you can’t take notes openly, you will have to depend on memory for note-taking, and memory can sometimes be
faulty.
• If a researcher becomes overly involved in the research, he or she may lose objectivity. This could threaten the validity
of the study.
Each type of study will help you gather insight into how customers and participants behave, but it comes with its own
set of drawbacks.
Advantages of Observational Study
The advantages of observational study are as follows:
• Simplicity: Observation is one of the most basic and widely used methods of data collection. Everybody in this world
observes many things in their lives. With little training, one can become an expert in monitoring one’s surroundings.
• Perfection: Another advantage of using an observational study is that, since the observations are made in a perfectly
natural setting, the analysis can reveal deep and unexplored insights. If we try to collect data via other means like
surveys, the revelation of such insights will be a rarity.
• Good assessment of real-world applicability: Observational studies are best used to: assess the real-world
applicability of proofs derived mainly through randomised trials; to examine or study patients and conditions not
usually included or studied in randomised trials; to better understand present treatment practices and how patients
are assessed in order to make better treatment decisions.
• Economical: Other advantages of observational studies are that they are usually more economical than RCTs
(randomised control trials), can be used to scrutinise rare outcomes and to discover unusual side effects, and that
some designs are easily and swiftly performed.
• It helps identify prospective customers for a business: One big advantage of observational research is that it
allows businesses to observe prospective customers in a natural setting, which can disclose penetrating insights
inaccessible through other methods such as focus groups, surveys, etc.
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