A Study Description in Psychology Research Methods - Essay Example

It has some drawbacks to it though, such as reliability (replicability) and generalizability (findings can be assumed to be true to other people at other times in another place). However, the most intractable among its drawbacks is observer bias in that a researcher may see what he is looking for by making subjective judgments or in other instances, influence the behavior he is observing. The latter is known as the observer effect or more specifically, the Hawthorne Effect in which a subject being studied may modify his or her behavior in response to the fact of being studied.

Discussion Two Main General Methods - of observational research are the direct (or reactive) and the indirect (unobtrusive) method. The first method is also described as reactive as the people being watched know they are being watched or observed. This is where the Hawthorne Effect can be bothersome with regards to the generalizability of the results obtained (external validity) as some people react to the fact of being watched and complicates the validity of the results. Under the direct observation method, there are two types which are continuous monitor and time allocation.

The first refers to continuous and extensive monitoring of the subjects and is a very time-consuming method but can produce a large amount of data. The second pertains to a sort of time-lapse observation, watching the subjects only at random times and places. A problem with this method is that a researcher needs a big sampling size to make the results valid. Direct observation includes participant observation, structured observation and field experiments. Still another is a direct observation with no intervention (Zechmeister, Zechmeister & Shaughnessy, 2001, pp. 84-91) and one of most commonly used (Brown-Chidsey & Cummings, 2007, p. 314). The second general method is the indirect method which requires the researcher doing the research observation without letting the subjects know they are the subject of the research.

There are some ethical issues with this approach such as invasion of privacy and informed consent as a researcher obtains data or information without letting the subjects know about it. Examples are the so-called behavioral trace studies and another is the disguised field observations in which the researcher actually joins the group being observed but not telling the group members. The main issue here is deception and group members may feel betrayed and get angry on finding out. The scientific method relies on observation and rejects authority as an ultimate basis for the truth (Wilson, 1991, p. 21). In other words, the scientific method reserves for the scientist or researcher the decision as to whether the methods used by other people are credible and whether their conclusions are reputable (ibid.); the collective judgment of scientists in which there are no disagreements generally constitutes the body of scientific knowledge.

Any new discovery must be shared as the basis for further work and so as not to retard or stifle progress (ibid. p. 7). Type of Observation Method – the type used by my friend as stated in the case study is of being a participant-observer under the direct method if he told people he is doing some research regarding their conversation and know what he is doing. If he used the direct method, then the people he had talked