Audience Research

The Socio-Economics from Varshini1999

Evaluating the Controlled Observation

Evaluating the Controlled Observation from Varshini1999

Controlled Observation

My observation will be involving an image of a female athlete which I would stick or place it in front of the computer in the 6^th form centre. The type of observation I will be conducting it Controlled Observation. I will be recording how people react towards the image; this can mean either looking, commenting, touching, drawing on the image, taking it down, moving it.

Intensity	Looking	Commenting	Touching	Draws on it	Takes it down/ Moves it
1
2
3
4
5

INTENSITY

1= LOW 5= HIGH

Types of Observation

In order of collecting data and studying participants, they often carry it out by using observation as a method.

Naturalistic Observation:

This type of observational study is where participants’ unconstrained behaviours is recorded in their own environment.  Interference is kept to a base and in this way such studies are said to have high ecological legitimacy.

In any case, as variables are not operated and tend to lack control, this absence of control makes replication hard to execute. There are additional dangers of observer biasness and ethical matters of intrusion of privacy.

STRENGTHS:

• By having the capacity to observe the stream of behaviour in its own particular setting considers having more ecological validity.
• Naturalistic observation is regularly used to create new thoughts. Since it gives the analyst the chance to study the situations overview and frequently proposes roads of enquiry not that was considered before.

LIMITATIONS:

• Frequently directed on a smaller scale and tend to lack a representative (one-sided in connection to age, gender, social class or ethnicity). This may bring about the discoveries without the capacity to be summed up to more extensive society.
• At times they tend to be less reliable as variables can't be controlled. This makes it tricky for another analyst to rehash the study in the very same way.
• A further drawback is that the analyst should be properly trained in order have the capacity to perceive parts of a situation, that are psychologically noteworthy and require further attention.
• Naturalistic observation don't have manipulations of variables (or control over ‘extraneous variables’) which can potentially cause and effect the relationships that can’t be established.

Controlled Observation:

This kind of observational study is controlled by the researcher, from the conditions to how they might act. Controlled observation may be completed under laboratory type circumstance and variables are manipulated majority of the time. The Dement and Kleitman study is a case of controlled observation. The shortcoming of the strategy is that it will be low in environmental legitimacy contrasted with naturalistic observation. This is because when the participants get the feeling that they are being filmed they tend to act differently; but this what everyone would do.   

STRENGTHS:

• It’s pretty quick to conduct meaning that numerous observations can happen inside a short measure of time. This implies a vast example can be achieved resulting in the discoveries being illustrative and being able to be summed up to a huge population.
• In order to get information from structured observations is easier and speedier to examine as it is quantitative (i.e. numerical) – making it less time consuming.
• It can be effortlessly repeated by various researchers by utilizing a similar observation plan. This implies that anything but difficulty to test for reliability.

LIMITATIONS:

• In some cases it can lack legitimacy/validity because of the Hawthorne effect/request characteristics. At the point when participants know they are being watched they may act in an unexpected way.

  
  

Participant Observation:

This observation is a kind of observational study where the researcher or in this case, ‘observer’ is also one of the participants. On the off chance that the analyst is unrevealed the study ought to be high in ecological validity and exceptionally in-depth so that information can be obtained. The Rosenhan study is a case of participation observation. Be that as it may, participant observations might be difficult to conduct, particularly when attempting to record behaviour without them noticing. The researcher’s company may change the participants’ performance and issues of biasness could occur, as the observer may turn out to be exceptionally close with the participants.

LIMITATIONS:

• It can be hard to save time/privacy for recording. For instance, with covert observations analysts can't take notes as this would ruin their disguise. Meaning that they need to hold up until they are separated from everyone else and answer on their memory. This is an issue as they may not remember the details properly and are probably not going to recollect direct quotations.

• In the event that the analyst turns out to be excessively included they may lose objectivity and potentially become bias. There is always that chance where we would “see” what we anticipate (or need) to see. This is an issue as they could specifically report data as opposed to taking note of all that they have observed. Therefore, decreasing the legitimacy of their information.

REFERENCE:

Holah.karoo.net. (2016). Observation. [online] Available at: http://www.holah.karoo.net/observation.htm [Accessed 17 Jan. 2016].

Simplypsychology.org. (2015). Observation Methods in Research | Simply Psychology. [online] Available at: http://www.simplypsychology.org/observation.html [Accessed 17 Jan. 2016].

naturalistic observation method. (2015). [video] Josh Knapp.

Structured Observation. (2009). [video] Maudsley Hospital: TheAnne55.

Participant Observations. (2015). [video] PowToon: Emily, Daniel and Lois.

Secondary Research- Qualitative Research (YELP & TRIP ADVISOR)

For this research I used the website Yelp again. The top five locations I was given with were mostly pubs and restaurants. This perhaps indicate why teenagers end up getting bored and do things they shouldn't. From this I learnt that Banstead is a village mainly aimed towards adults and the elderly, there are no sports or extra curricular activities for kids and teens. In addition to this, based on stats since 1997 teenage obesity has risen by 14% and 12% of them are girls between the age range of 2-15.

• Yelp. (2016). Search Businesses In Banstead, Surrey - Yelp. [online] Available at: https://www.yelp.co.uk/search?find_loc=Banstead, +Surrey [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016].

From what trip advisor has provided me with there are only 2 notable things to see and go to in Banstead. This is the ever so famous Lavender Fields and Caffe Italia. Lavender fields is visited mostly by tourists and especially Asian people, as they tend to collect natural medications and formula for health and beauty. Caffe Italia is an Italian Café that is mainly aimed towards adults, so that they can chill and catch up with friends and family. This has been very useful for my research as it further proves the point that there is nothing for teenagers in Banstead.

• Tripadvisor.co.uk. (2016). The Top Things to Do in Banstead 2016 - TripAdvisor. [online] Available at: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attractions-g1069786-Activities-Banstead_Surrey_England.html [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016].

Secondary Research- Qualitative Research (FORUMS)

I came across a forum about Banstead and it is called "WOMAN & HOME FORUMS". It is created specially for women, so that they can meet up with other women and socialise.

"WOMAN & HOME FORUMS" is a website I came across during this research. It is a website where women around Banstead get to socialise and share their common interest with other women that live in Banstead. Typically, women who tend to do this are either very lonely and probably don't get the attention that they need. This could be perhaps they are single or their kids (potentially teenagers) don't have the time to talk or spend quality time with them.

Woman & Home Forums. (2008). Groups in and around Banstead, Surrey. [online] Available at: http://www.womanandhome.com/forums/threads/4572-Groups-in-and-around-Banstead-Surrey [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016].

Surrey Forum - The free online Surrey community. (2016). Surrey Forum - The free online Surrey community. [online] Available at: http://www.surreyforum.co.uk/ [Accessed 15 Jan. 2016].

This website contains all the facilities open and the things needed in Surrey. When I typed in Banstead in the search box, it came up with all the facilities available just in Banstead. From teens to the elderly's. These sort of websites are very useful as it contains all the information just in one website.

Secondary research - Quantitative research

Quantitative research is when individuals answer questions numerically or statistics. For instance, in my Banstead data collection one of my questions was that “Would you agree that Banstead is a diverse region?” There wasn’t a concrete answer. However looking at the stats 28.57% said yes and the same percentage for no, and 42.86% said maybe. It was helpful, easier and effective to me when analysing results. This technique is also used for- Box Office Figures, Readership Circulation, Website Hits etc.

When researching about teenagers in Banstead I came to know that there was a free youth club available in Banstead that you could attend Tuesday evenings. It helps you adapt new skills, gain knowledge as well as having fun with your friends. I also discovered that there was another youth club that has its own Facebook page and had 75 likes at the time I was looking. This was very convenient as it clearly indicated how many teenagers took notice and participate the youth club and that there are facilities for teenagers in Banstead to socialise.

I will also be looking at Readership Circulation for my quantitative research. This allows me to understand how many people are reading specific newspapers, magazine and statistics. I was looking at Banstead Guardian and came to know that only 6% of the teenage population Banstead read the Banstead Guardian. This shows me that teenagers, not only in Banstead but around the country, do not really read newspapers. Meaning that they are not aware of local issues or the changes that are going to take place, and purely the fact that that they do not care about what’s going around them and instead opting to say at home and playing video games.

Box Office Figures is used to indicate how many people have watched the film in the cinema and the popularity of that specific in that specific cinema. ODEON in Epsom and Empire in Sutton are the cinemas that most teenagers go to, as they are the only cinemas closer to Banstead. Making them the popular cinemas and especially within this area. Based on my research the percentage of teenagers that go to Empire Cinema in Sutton are 47% and overall stats states that 35% of them go to the cinemas weekly between the ages of 11 and 18. Meaning that Sutton Empire Cinema are doing very well and that most teenagers visit the cinema. This research is really effective and useful to me as it tells me that I can distribute my documentary either at Epsom ODEON cinema or Sutton Empire and this would automatically attract a teenage audience as most of them tend to go to either one of them.

When researching about local radio stations, especially in Banstead I found a website called ‘Yelp’ which allowed me to find the top 10 radio station in Banstead:

• Yelp. (2016). Top 10 Radio Stations in Banstead, Surrey. [online] Available at: http://www.yelp.co.uk/search?cflt=radiostations&find_loc=Banstead%2C+Surrey [Accessed 14 Jan. 2016].
  

• KRANKIKOM, (2016). Welcome to Empire Cinemas. [online] empirecinemas.co.uk. Available at: http://www.empirecinemas.co.uk/cinema_info/empire_sutton_surrey/t36 [Accessed 14 Jan. 2016].