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An Introduction to Nonparticipant Observational Research Techniques

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2016

Carol Barner-Barry
Carol Barner-Barry*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Maryland—Baltimore County, Catonsville, Maryland 21228
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Extract

At least since the time of Darwin, scientists have been using systematic observational techniques in the conduct of research. During the 1920s and 1930s, in psychology and zoology there was widespread use of the systematic recording of quantitative analysis of observed behavioral data. In both professions, this enthusiasm gradually gave way to an emphasis on controlled experiments. In psychology, the incidence of nonparticipant observational research dwindled to almost zero. In zoology, it became somewhat attenuated, but was preserved as a part of the ethological tradition (Hutt and Hutt, 1970).

Type
Research Commentary
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 5 , Issue 1 , August 1986 , pp. 139 - 147
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 

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