Much pedagogic research undertaken in geography and other disciplines relies on post-hoc methods such as surveys or interviews to investigate the student experience of higher education (often based on self-reports of behaviour). However, observation of students provides a far more direct route to obtain information about their behaviour, and there…

This paper outlines the research on the reciprocal effects of children and parents on one another and briefly discusses the methods and concepts currently employed in the area. Three types of observational studies are identified: (1) parent-infant studies in which slow-motion and stop-frame video pictures are used to analyze minute details of…

This paper (1) discusses methodological issues in the study of interaction; (2) describes a statistical approach to data analysis that derives the amount of interaction empirically from separate and independent observations of simultaneously occurring behaviors of mother-child dyads; and (3) discusses the application of this technique to the…

In order to compare the relative effects of observation of performance and recording of information about performance on social facilitation/inhibition, 256 college students solved three concept-attainment problems in an orthogonal design. (Editor)

Reports two investigations of the effects of rater's race (Black v White) on observed interactions across Black and White families. (CM)

Describes a positive method of studying children which gives insight into the differences between "privileged" and "underprivileged", and makes possible analysis of the development of a logical concept (number). Preschool children were observed as they interacted in a controlled group situation. (ED)

Compared the Marital Interaction Coding System (MICS) and the Communication Skills Test (CST) to determine the similarities and differences in the assessment data obtained from these observational measures. Coded videotaped marital conflict-resolution discussions of married couples with both systems. Husband-wife and distressed and nondistressed…

Communication scholars have addressed a number of theoretical issues concerning the basis of knowledge and reality. They have not, however, accompanied their theories with parallel empirical studies. Given the important implications such work might have for the interpretation and generalizability of observer accounts, two studies were conducted…

This study investigates the reactive effects of observers on interactions between teachers (undergraduates and mothers) and toddlers in a preventive educational program. Findings indicate that the presence of an observer differentially affects interactional patterns in the home. More specifically, undergraduates and toddlers are relatively…

This paper presents a rationale for observing black mothers during semi-structured play activities with their toddlers. It appraises the strengths and weaknesses of such situational assessments of mother-infant dyads, arguing that in addition to observational data the collection of introspective interview data from mothers is essential. Interview…

This study charts the development of social interchange patterns (reciprocity) between familiar peers and adults from written and videotaped observations of 72 children at ages 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, and 42 months. Two additional groups of eight children were observed over a 12-month interval in a parallel longitudinal design. Measures included…

This paper examines interaction in a school class through the factor-analytical P-technique, considers the behavior of the factor scores in combination with certain other variables included in the interaction matrix, explores the formation of homogeneous groups of lessons in a grouping analysis based on the factor scores, and compares this latter…

This paper provides information about the nature of fieldwork and fieldwork research training. Fieldwork methods are best at answering the following five questions: (1) What's happening in this field setting? (2) What do the happenings mean to the people involved in them? (3) What do people have to know in order to be able to do what they do in a…