Participant or non-participant: You participate in the activity or behavior yourself, or you observe from the sidelines.Covert or overt: You either hide or reveal your identity as an observer to the participants you observe.Types of naturalistic observation methods You triangulate reports of drug use among athletes with in-person observations. You study how grocery shoppers navigate a store and shop differently after a layout change. You track language development in a child’s natural environment, their own home, with an audio recording device. Examples: Naturalistic observation in different fields Field Naturalistic observation is especially valuable for studying behaviors and actions that may not be replicable in controlled lab settings. He later devised experiments to test the hypothesis and found clear support for his theory. He came up with the idea by observing ducklings and goslings as they hatched and then taking detailed notes on their behaviors.īased on his naturalistic observations, he believed that these birds imprinted on the first potential parent in their surroundings, and they quickly learned to follow them and their actions.

Example: Naturalistic observation in zoologyIn the 1930s, zoologist Konrad Lorenz famously coined the term “imprinting,” which describes a critical period of learning for animals. Naturalistic observations are helpful as a hypothesis-generating approach, because you gather rich information that can inspire further research. Traditionally, naturalistic observation studies have been used by animal researchers, psychologists, ethnographers, and anthropologists. It’s a research method used in field studies. In naturalistic observations, you study your research subjects in their own environments to explore their behaviors without any outside influence or control.

Frequently asked questions about naturalistic observation.Disadvantages of naturalistic observation.Types of naturalistic observation methods.