Naturalistic Observation Definition

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Researchers use diverse methods to gain information for their research. Case Studies: In case studies, researchers carry out thorough analysis of unique situations, persons or groups of persons. The researcher gets to understand the subjective experience of this unique demographic. Naturalistic Observation: In naturalistic observation, the researcher makes the respondent to be comfortable so that they can behave normally during the research. Naturalistic observation mitigates fear therefore increasing the probability of aligning the actual behavior of the person with the research being performed. Researchers therefore gain adequate information as they do not influence the outcomes as they have minimal control over the respondents. Laboratory …show more content…

It addresses topics in a scientific perspective in that it utilizes a myriad of research methodologies so as to gain in-depth information regarding the topic being analyzed. It raises pertinent questions as to why people behave they do. In an attempt to explain human behaviour; various theories/approaches like classical conditioning and social learning theory have been created to explain human behavior. For instance, a psychologist questions what a person does, why he does it that and what the consequences of changing such behaviors are. In most instances, researchers analyze available research so as to ascertain whether substantial evidence is available and if not available; they refine the research basing on available …show more content…

For instance, Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution seeks to explain how human beings evolved. A hypothesis is a proposed explanation that creates the basis for carrying out research. It forms the foundation for reasoning with the assumption that there is limited evidence to support the proposition (Whitley, Kite, Adams, 2013). It is a statement whose veracity is not verified but if tested can solve the problem. A hypothesis should give a relationship between two variables and should be testable so as to come up with an answer that explains the issues brought forth. An example of a hypothesis is individuals get hungrier if they eat in short intervals rather than if they eat in long intervals. Theories can therefore be termed as wide explanations of the subject to be discussed while hypotheses are narrowed down explanations. Operational definitions refer to how terms are measured and manipulated so as to establish the availability of the object. An example the calculation of how thirst equals the length of time one can stay without water. For instance, a person who stays 18 hours without water can be termed as thirstier than the person who goes without water for 9 hours. However, operational definitions are further subdivided into two namely experimental and measured operational

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