4. Describe what constitutes valid and reliable observation especially with regards to operationalizing variables, experimenter bias, demand characteristics, and unobtrusive measures.
Operationalizing variables- is the process of strictly defining variables into measurable factors. The process defines fuzzy concepts and allows them to be measured, empirically and quantitatively.
Experimenter bias- bias introduced by an experimenter whose expectations about the outcome of the experiment can be subtly communicated to the participants in the experiment
Demand characteristics- denote the situation where the results of an experiment are biased because the experimenters' expectancies regarding the performance of the participants on a particular task create an implicit demand for the participants to perform as expected.
Unobtrusive measures-method of making observations without the knowledge of those being observed.
Examples
One way to assess the effect of racial integration in schools is to compare the academic records of students educated in schools whose student populations vary in their degree of racial heterogeneity.