BMG871 International business Research skills

Describe The Key Purpose Of Observation, Outlining Advantages And Disadvantages Of This Research Approach To Collecting Data.  

Observation is considered to be a systematic way of collecting data where researcher makes use of all their senses that helps in examining people within their natural settings or situations that occur naturally. In other words, observation can be considered to be a method that will help in describing the behaviour of the individuals who are being observed (Lee, Xia and Roos 2017). Similarly, observation also helps in collecting information that are relevant as well as credible and the data that is collected with the help of observation is first hand. There are two types of observation qualitative and quantitative observation (Ha 2017). Qualitative observation is used when the researcher makes use of subjective methodologies foe gathering different types of information. It should also be noted that qualitative research also goes on to involve collection as well as analysis of non-numerical data that helps in understanding concepts, experiences as well as opinions (Ciesielska, Boström and Öhlander 2018).

Quantitative observation on the other hand is considered to be the objective collection of data which focuses primarily on values as well as numbers that are associated to depict quantity. The results of quantitative observation is most of the time derived through numerical as well as statistical methods (Sekaran and Bougie 2016). Both qualitative as well as quantitative observation is used by researchers to meet the goals and objectives of the research and make it both credible as well as comprehensible for others. Hence, the primary purpose of observation is to provide accurate information regarding people, their behaviour, needs, expectations and others (Ha 2017). Observation at the same time helps in getting reliable insights about the behaviour and other criteria of individuals, it also helps the researchers to understand non-verbal cues of participants and evaluate and notice if there is any kind of discrepancy between their behaviour and their speech (Voyce 2019). Through observation, the observer analyses these discrepancies which helps in making the research process accurate.

Advantage

One of the most significant advantage of observation in research is that it is considered to be one of the most effective and efficient ways of data collection where technical knowledge is not essential. Though it cannot be denied that scientific observation is where the researcher or the observer needs to have some technical skill, however, it is still considered to be easier and simpler than other methods (Queirós, Faria and Almeida 2017). Second advantage of the process is that it helps in framing hypothesis and this is possible by continuously observing a phenomenon that helps in researcher to get efficiently acquainted with the participants who are being observed (Queirós, Faria and Almeida 2017). Observation helps the researcher to get to know the participants by being acquainted with their habits, perceptions as well as activities which helps in formulating the hypothesis. Another advantage of the method of observation is that the process does not require the consent of others while observation is being made (Rahman 2020).

In other words, observation is a method where the researcher observes the behaviour and activities of his/her chosen target without their approval as well as knowledge which does not make them change their behaviour and therefore, accurate behaviour and feelings of the participants can be noted (Rahman 2020). If willingness will be taken from the participants then it will take a lot of time to conduct the research process as most of the participants will not successfully take part in the process and the information that will be given by them will be inaccurate and cannot be trusted by the researchers (Morgan et al 2017). Hence, observation process will help in mitigating these issues and will help in making the method successful and relevant.

Additionally, observation method leads to greater accuracy as compared to interview as well as questionnaire method, where the researcher has to depend upon the information and details that are provided by the participants. Therefore, observation brings greater accuracy as it is considered to be an indirect method where the observer does not have to depend on the information provided by the participants, instead he collects information by observing the behaviour and activities of the participants which helps in making the research more credible as well as reliable and will also lead to greater accuracy (Morgan et al 2017).

Disadvantages

Along with the advantages, there are several disadvantages of the observation process which is used as a research method. One of the most significant disadvantages of the observation is the incompetence of the observer. When the observer is incompetent and is not able to successfully analyze and evaluate the behaviour of participants then it makes the entire data collection process invalid and also leads to inaccuracy (Stapleton, Jamnik and Shimojima 2017). Incompetent observer is responsible for hampering the validity as well as reliability of observation. Second disadvantage is that there is chances of lack of clarity within the process of observation. The observer most of the time wants to see things from his/her own perspective and therefore, tends to avoid observing the exact behaviour of the participants that might lead to research accuracy (Stapleton, Jamnik and Shimojima 2017).

When participants are observed through personal interest, motivation as well as emotion then it makes the researched biased. Additionally, another disadvantage of the observation process is that there is a strong possibility of distortion by the act of observation because the process itself is considered to be self-interfering that leads to the presence of significant bias where its extent as well as direction is considered to be unknown.

Discuss Four Dimensions That Distinguish Various Approaches To Observation.

 Depending on the type of observation that is required for the research along with the goal of the study, the researcher is responsible for analyzing the various levels of participation that has been involved in the study, where at times that researcher will become a part of the environment while at other times he/she will observe the participants from a distance. Hence, it should be noted that there are four dimensions that helps in distinguishing various approaches towards observation (Cuenot et al 2017). Hence the four dimensions are-controlled v/s uncontrolled, participant v/s non-participant and structured v/s unstructured observation and lastly concealed v/s unconcled.

Controlled v/s Uncontrolled

Controlled observation is a type of research observation that has been used by many researchers and the research is conducted when the researchers or the observers study the participants behaviour within a natural surrounding where there are no predetermined codes for behaviour rather it is the responsibility of the researcher to rigorously take down notes and then code the data later (Mehl 2017). The primary goal of naturalistic observation is to observe the behaviour of the participants in a naturalistic setting without any kind of intervention which helps the researchers to tally the various behaviours that they observe (Luo et al 2019). Some of the advantages of the research is that it helps in ensuring validity as participants are observed within their natural settings. It also helps in generating new ideas as well as research questions and also helps in opening the mind of the researchers to different types of possibilities which might not have been considered before by the researcher (Luo et al 2019). However, there several limitations applied in this dimension like the researcher cannot control the different variables which makes it difficult to replicate the study as well as test for reliability and the researcher needs to be skilled so that they cannot miss any type of critical data pertaining to behaviour of the participants.

Participant v/s Non-participant

The second dimension is known as participant observation where the observer observes the participants within their natural habitat. Participant observation is when the researchers become a part of the group that they are studying so that they can successfully collect data and thereby be able to understand the social phenomenon (Shah 2017). By participating in the activities of the participants, the researcher is able to get a clearer picture of the difficulties and issues that are being faced by the participants which leads to greater understanding as well as credibility (Shah 2017). Some advantages of this dimension is that it helps the researcher to control some of the variables by becoming a part of the natural environment. Similarly, incorrect as well as self-reported data can be avoided with the help of this method (Roulet et al 2017). Some limitations of the same is that when participant observation is involved then taking notes openly becomes quite difficult as the other and main participants will become aware that they are being observed which might affect the accuracy of the research and when notes cannot be taken openly then the observer will have to depend on their memory and it is quite natural for the researcher to forget about the minute details about the participants (Roulet et al 2017). Secondly, if the researcher becomes too involved then he/she might become less objective which will act as a direct threat on the validity of the research.

Structured v/s Unstructured

Structured observation is another dimension that helps in distinguishing various approaches to observation where the researcher is involved in gathering and collecting data as well as information without getting directly involved with the participants where the technique of collecting data is quite structured while being well-defined (Colley and Zeeman 2020). The purpose of structured observation is that it helps in collecting data that is not otherwise captured through other methods like survey questionnaire as well as interview. Structured observation can be carried both inside a laboratory or within natural settings (Colley and Zeeman 2020). Some of the advantages of structured observation is that it helps in overcoming the social desirability bias as the participants do not answer a range of uniform questions where they will be reacting on the fact that they are being observed (Mintzberg 2019). This observation also helps in quantitative data to be produced quickly. Similarly, the process also involves some disadvantages like structured observation lacks validity where different observers can place the same event into different categories that will make the research process incomprehensible. Similarly, the process is only useful for studying small-scale interactions as this is considered to be an intensive method that needs to be carried out (Mintzberg 2019). Unstructured observation on the other hand, is quite flexible and helps in having an overview of the situation where the behvior of the subject is reported.

Concealed vs unconcealed

Concealed observation is used when the presence of the observer tends to affect the behaviour of the participants and will thereby not allow in true and authentic data collection and therefore, concealed observation is effectively used so that accurate data can be collected in an efficient and effective manner (Kalpak 2020). It should be noted, that when observers are involved in concealed observation then the participants are not aware of the fact that they are being observed so that they can act in their normal behaviour and data can be collected in the truest form (Kalpak 2020). On the other hand, in unconcealed observation, participants are aware that they are being observed and therefore the respondent might purposely act in a positive manner and change their regular behavior which might affect the results of the research (Kaempf and Suresh 2019).

Disadvantage Of Observation Is Observer Bias. Discuss At Least Two Ways Of Minimizing Observer Bias.

Observation bias is considered to be one of the most significant disadvantages of the observation process that is used in the research method. Observation bias can be described as another form of information bias that is initiated by the investigator as he goes on to incorrectly ascertain as well as record data from participants involved in the study (Sekaran and Bougie 2016). Observation bias has a strong and negative impact on the research method that affects assessment in observational as well as interventional process. In other words, observation bias can also be defined as a process of observing as well as recording information that has presence of systematic discrepancies from the actual truth and has a strong tendency of making the research process meaningless and unauthentic (Sekaran and Bougie 2016). Hence, to overcome the issue of observation bias it is essential to follow some steps as well as strategies that will help in overcoming the above issue. Two steps that will help in mitigating the problem of observation bias is to have clear rules as well as guidelines to conduct the experiment or observation and ensuring that the observers are well trained in their field (Couch et al 2021).

Having presence of clear rules as well as procedures will help in assuring consistency from the beginning to the end and will also help the observer to go by the rules. When rules are set in an effective and efficient manner then it will set guidelines for the researcher or the observer of how the observation needs to be conducted. It will not allow the observer to incorporate any kind of personal biases since it will clearly go against the rule (Couch et al 2021). Hence, by setting clear rules and procedures will help the researcher to act in an ethical manner and not give way to any kind of personal biases which might affect the observation proves and make it meaningless as well as unauthentic (Caraffini, Kononova and Corne 2019). Similarly, rules will be clearly aligned with the goals and objectives of the research and will help in ensuring observer behaviour that is in accordance with the rules. Hence, with the help of this approach or strategy it can be said that the observer will not be able to give way to his own personal bias that might affect the research process (Caraffini, Kononova and Corne 2019).

Another way of mitigating the issue of observer bias is to have trained observers for conducting the observation process that will help in making the research method both credible as well as authentic and at the same time will also help in adding meaning to the research process (Mahtani et al 2018). When the observer will be trained then he/she will be aware of the disadvantages and negative impact that personal biases can have on the research process and with their skills and training they will be able to successfully mitigate their personal biases that might crop up during the process of observation (Mahtani et al 2018). Similarly, when there will be presence of trained observer then the observer too can be responsible for identifying his/her own hidden biases through a series of tests and self-evaluations that will help them to identify the biases and eliminate it during the observation process (YUAN 2018). Therefore, it should be noted that trained observers will be quite beneficial for the observation process as they will be aware of their biases and will be equipped enough to mitigate those biases in time to make the research and observation process a success (YUAN 2018). If the observer is not trained then he/she will not be able to understand the negative impact of their hidden biases on the research process that might make the research process unauthentic and the method might even lack meaning and true data cannot be successfully obtained.

Provide a Critical Evaluation Of The Ethics Of Using Concealed Observation As a Research Method.

Concealed observation is a type of research method where the observer remains hidden from the subjects of the study or in other words, the observer or the researcher conceals his/her identity from the participants to conduct the observation process. Concealed observation is used when the presence of the observer tends to affect the behaviour of the participants and will thereby not allow in true and authentic data collection and therefore, concealed observation is effectively used so that accurate data can be collected in an efficient and effective manner (Kalpak 2020). It should be noted, that when observers are involved in concealed observation then the participants are not aware of the fact that they are being observed so that they can act in their normal behaviour and data can be collected in the truest form (Kalpak 2020). Thus, it should be noted that since participants are unaware of the fact that they are being observed and the observer concealing his/her identity leads to several ethical concerns.

The first ethical concern here is that of privacy as well as confidentiality. When the observer has concealed his identity and the participants are unaware that they are being observed then it is quite likely that the participants might engage in behaviour and activities and also say certain things that are quite private which they do not want to disclose in front of everyone (Moratis and van Egmond 2018). However, a concealed observer will be observing all these private and confidential behaviour that might lead to serious ethical issue. Hence, in these types of situations, it becomes the responsibility of the observer to only note down and remember the behaviour that are needed for the authenticity of the research process and should make sure that none of the private and confidential information of any of the participants are disclosed during the research process that might to legal issues and might also offend the participant (Baaz and Utas 2019).

Another ethical issue that is aligned with this type of observation is the issue of informed consent. For every research method to be conducted it is the responsibility of the researchers and the observers to take consent from the participants who are being observed or are required to be part of the research process so that future uncertainty can be avoided (Baaz and Utas 2019). However, during concealed observation no consent from the participants are taken and they are secretly observed, or consent is taken after the participants have been observed which most of the time angers the participants and they demand their details to be handed over to them that will hamper the entire research process (Reid et al 2018). Therefore, during concealed observation it becomes the responsibility of the observer to maintain full privacy as well as confidentiality of the participants that will not need the consent the participants since their private details will be kept a secret that will not offend them.

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