Field Notes And Observational Research

Field Notes and Observational Research

Student’s name

Professor’s name

Subject code

University

Table of Contents

TOC \o "1-3" 1. Answers to the Questions Above PAGEREF _Toc21521015 \h 3

1.1 What topic would you like to study by observation? PAGEREF _Toc21521016 \h 3

1.2 What is your research question? PAGEREF _Toc21521017 \h 3

1.3 Subjects: PAGEREF _Toc21521018 \h 3

1.4 Setting: PAGEREF _Toc21521019 \h 3

1.5 Procedure: PAGEREF _Toc21521020 \h 3

2. Observation Checklist of Operationalized (Specific) Behaviors PAGEREF _Toc21521021 \h 3

3. Narrative Notes from the Observation PAGEREF _Toc21521022 \h 3

References PAGEREF _Toc21521023 \h 5

1. Answers to the Questions Above

1.1 What topic would you like to study by observation?

I would like to study the behavioral analysis of young children towards their fathers on brief separations.

1.2 What is your research question?

How minors (of both genders) under the age of five years respond to brief periods of separations from their fathers?

1.3 Subjects:

A group of six children (including three male children and three female children) under the age of five years along with their respective fathers (six in total) were randomly chosen for the study.

1.4 Setting:

The subjects were placed in a psychology laboratory and observed for fifteen minutes to study the behavior intensity of the subject in a controlled setting (Thieme et al., 2003).

1.5 Procedure:

The subjects were placed in a psychology laboratory for a period of fifteen minutes. The fathers were separated for three times (in total) from the children for a brief period of fifteen seconds, i.e., after every four minutes. A behavior schedule (Stayton et al., 1971) was used to record the interaction behaviors of the minors towards their fathers.

2. Observation Checklist of Operationalized (Specific) Behaviors

Intensity

Proximity and Contrast Seeking

Contact Maintaining

Proximity and Interaction Avoidance

Proximity and Interaction Resisting

Searching

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

3. Narrative Notes from the Observation

The intensity of the behaviors shown by the children during the brief periods of separation were scaled from 1 to 7, with 1 being the weakest and 7 being the strongest on the scale. The red dotes in the observation checklist indicates the female children whereas black dots indicate the male children. The observation has been conducted as a non-participant activity, i.e., the researcher has not maintained any kind of direct or indirect contact with the participants during experiment.

References

Stayton, D. J., Hogan, R., & Ainsworth, M. D. S. (1971). Infant obedience and maternal behavior: The origins of socialization reconsidered. Child Development, 1057-1069.

Thieme, K., Gromnica‐Ihle, E., & Flor, H. (2003). Operant behavioral treatment of fibromyalgia: a controlled study. Arthritis Care & Research, 49(3), 314-320.