CHAPTER OBJECTIVES

Based upon their reading of Chapter 9, students should be able to:

1. explain the concept of triangulation.
2. discuss the roles of observation.
3. understand the types of behavior and research purposes to which observation can be applied with satisfactory results.
4. understand the process of timing and recording observations.
5. understand the meaning of inference in the course of observation.
6. be familiar with the major types of observation.
7. discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the laboratory experiment as a type of observation.
8. appraise the major sources of bias in laboratory experiments.
9. distinguish between field and natural experiments and compare and contrast these techniques with laboratory experimentation.