Page 141 - Data Science class 11
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Types of Observational Studies
An observational study can be of two types:
• Direct observation: In this type of observation, the information is collected using sensory organs. Through direct
observation, you can document activities, habits, and physical aspects of a situation without depending on people's
willingness or ability to respond correctly to questions.
• Indirect observation: In this type of observation, some data related to past behaviour or habits is used to infer what
occurred during an event. This can be explained using the following example: looking at packaging usage in a fast
food restaurant to understand what flavoured drinks sell the most.
Observation is a way of collecting data by watching behaviour, patterns, habits, events, or noting physical characteristics
in their natural setting. Observations can be overt (everyone knows they are being observed) or covert (no one knows
they are being observed and the observer is kept out of sight).
Is observation same as inference?
The answer to this is no. This is due to the fact that an observation makes use of your five senses, but an inference is
a conclusion based on a number of observations.
Types of Observational Research
There are three different types of methodologies to conduct observational research: controlled observations,
naturalistic observations, and participant observations.
Let’s quickly look at what each type of observation means, along with their advantages and disadvantages.
Controlled observation
Controlled observations are usually a structured examination that takes place in a psych lab. The researcher has a
question in mind and controls many of the variables, including participants, observation place, time of the study,
conditions surrounding the research, etc. While conducting this observation, the researcher will often create codes
that signify different types of behaviour. That way, instead of writing an exhaustive report, they can classify behaviour
into different categories and evaluate the data easily.
Advantages
The advantages of controlled observation include:
• Making an observation schedule for sampling, and having other market researchers use the same codes if they
produce a duplicate version of the study. This helps check for reliability.
• The coded data is easy to examine, analyse and quantify.
• Controlled studies are not laborious.
Disadvantages
Here is a disadvantage of controlled observation:
• It may be difficult to determine the sustainability of the research if participants know they are being observed.
Naturalistic Observation
Naturalistic observation is a research methodology used by market researchers to study the behaviours of participants
in a natural environment. There are generally no fixed or predetermined behavioural codes. Rather, the researcher will
take notes diligently and code the data thereafter.
Advantages
Some advantages of naturalistic observation are:
• The study guarantees validity when participants are in their natural setting.
• This study is useful for creating new ideas and questions related to research.
• It opens researchers’ minds to new possibilities not known before.
Forecasting on Data 139

