Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T01:31:01.524Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter fourteen - Behavioral Observation and Coding

from Part two - Procedural Possibilities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2014

Harry T. Reis
Affiliation:
University of Rochester, New York
Charles M. Judd
Affiliation:
University of Colorado Boulder
Get access

Summary

This chapter provides an overview of behavioral observation, including the contexts researchers use when observing, the forms in which they record behaviors for analysis (e.g., coding), the methods available to document that different observers coded behaviors similarly (i.e., interrater agreement, an element of reliability), the necessity of establishing other forms of reliability as well as validity, and methods of analyzing behavioral observation data. Observational settings exist along a continuum of researcher influence ranging from unfettered natural environments to tightly controlled experimental situations. Behavioral observation coding systems are of two types: topographical coding systems and dimensional coding systems. The chapter discusses the most common interrater agreement statistics, as well as some useful alternatives. When analyzing behavioral data, one must consider both how the behavior is measured and how often it is measured. The chapter describes recent analytic developments for observational data that will likely be of interest to many social-psychological researchers.
Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×