CHAPTER ABSTRACT

In this chapter we first discuss the four major methods of data collection used in the social sciences and illustrate the idea of triangulation-the practice of using more than one method of data collection as a strategy to test the same hypothesis. Next we discuss the role of observation in social sciences research. We then review the types of behavior that researchers observe and describe the main strategies for observing and recording data. The chapter closes with a discussion of controlled observation in the laboratory and in the field.