Methods of Observations

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Methods of observation: • Structures – Unstructured Observation: • Structured observation is used when the research problem has been formulated precisely and the observers have been told specifically what is to be observed. The may be given a form to record their observations. • Unstructured observation implies that observers are free to observe and record what ever thy feel is relevant and important. While structured observations are free from subjective bias, unstructured observations are subject to this limitation. The extent of the bias may vary to the extent an observation is unstructured. • Disguised observation and Undisguised observation: In the case of disguised observation, the subjects do not know that they are being observed. In some cases the observers may make disguised observation by posing as one of the shoppers who are being observed. • Direct- Indirect Observation: In the case of direct observation, the event or the behavior of the person is observed as it occurs. In contrast indirect observation implies that some record of past behavior is observed. In other words the behavior itself is not observed, but the effects are observed. The observer engaged in indirect observation generally looks for physical traces of behavior or an occurrence of event. Suppose the researcher is interested in knowing about the soft drink consumption of a household he would like to see the empty soft drink cans in the garbage. Similarly the observer may seek the permission of the housewife to see the kitchen, he may carry out a kitchen audit to ascertain the brands and the sizes used for a variety of products like packed food, canned food, washing detergent, break fast cereals etc. It may be noted that the success of an indirect observation largely depends on how best the observer is able to identify physical traces of the problem
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