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Observations » Structured and Unstructured Observations

What you'll learn this session

Study time: 30 minutes

Cambridge spec: 7.2.3, 7.2.4, 7.2.5

The features of a structured observation, including behavioural categories, tally charts and checklists
The features of an unstructured observation
The strengths and weaknesses of each in terms of validity and reliability
How to choose and apply each one in a new scenario

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Two ways to watch

An observation means collecting data by watching participants. But a researcher can watch in two very different ways. They can decide in advance exactly what to look for, or they can watch everything and see what turns up. These are called structured and unstructured observations.

Structured observation

Imagine a researcher who wants to study how children behave in a swimming lesson. Before the lesson starts, they decide on a short list of behaviours to watch for, such as splashing, listening to the instructor and helping another child. During the lesson they only record those behaviours and ignore everything else.

Key terms:

Structured observation: observing a fixed set of behaviours that the researcher selects in advance.
Behavioural categories: the specific activities recorded in a structured observation.
Tally chart: a chart where the observer makes a mark each time a behavioural category happens.
Checklist: a list of behavioural categories where the observer ticks each one that they see.
Unstructured observation: observing a complete range of possible behaviours that the researcher does not select in advance.

Learn this

A structured observation uses operationalised behavioural categories. Each category is a clear, specific activity, so that the observer knows exactly what to record. The next lesson explains how to write them.

Tally charts and checklists

A structured observation needs a simple way to record what is seen. There are two common tools.

📝 Tally chart

The observer makes one mark every time a category happens. At the end, they count the marks to see how often each behaviour occurred.

✅ Checklist

The observer ticks a category if they see it. A checklist shows whether a behaviour happened, but not how many times.

Example tally chart

A researcher watches a swimming lesson for 10 minutes and records the behavioural categories below.

Splashing another child: |||| | (6)
Listening to the instructor: |||| |||| || (12)
Helping another child: || (2)

The tallies give the researcher numbers they can compare, such as listening happening six times more often than helping.

Unstructured observation

Now imagine a researcher who wants to know what happens at a new youth club, but has no idea yet what to expect. They do not pick behaviours in advance. Instead they write detailed notes about everything they see: who arrives, who talks to whom, what games are played, how people react.

This is an unstructured observation. It records a complete range of possible behaviours, and the researcher does not select them beforehand. The data is usually detailed written notes rather than tallies.

Strengths and weaknesses

You need to link each type to validity (is the researcher really studying what they aim to study?) and reliability (are the procedure and measures consistent?). Later lessons explain these in more detail.

📊 Structured: strengths

Reliability: the same categories are used every time, so another researcher can repeat the observation in the same way and compare results. Tallies are numbers, so there is little room for opinion.

🚫 Structured: weaknesses

Validity: behaviours that are not on the list are missed, so the researcher may not get the full picture of what is really going on.

📖 Unstructured: strengths

Validity: because nothing is ruled out, the researcher can capture rich, detailed behaviour, including things they did not expect.

🔄 Unstructured: weaknesses

Reliability: the observer decides what to write down, so the notes depend on their own view. Another observer might record something different, and the notes are hard to repeat or compare.

Choosing the right one

The choice depends on what the researcher wants to find out.

Choose structured when the researcher already knows which behaviours they are interested in, and wants numbers to count and compare.
Choose unstructured when the researcher does not yet know which behaviours matter, and wants a full, detailed picture.

Applying it to a new scenario

Worked example

A researcher wants to compare how often pupils talk, read silently and look at their phones in a school library over one lunchtime.

Best choice: structured observation.

Why: the behaviours are known in advance, so they can be turned into categories (talking, reading silently, looking at a phone) and recorded on a tally chart. The researcher can then compare the totals. This is reliable because another observer using the same chart should get similar numbers. The weakness is that other behaviours, such as sleeping, would be missed.

Worked example

A researcher wants to find out what happens when shoppers meet a new self-checkout area for the first time.

Best choice: unstructured observation.

Why: nobody knows yet what shoppers will do, so the researcher writes detailed notes on everything they see. This is valid because unexpected behaviour is not missed. The weakness is that the notes depend on what the observer chooses to write, so another observer might record something different.

Common mistakes

Mixing them up. Structured means the behaviours are chosen in advance. Unstructured means they are not.
Saying structured is always better. It is more reliable, but it can miss behaviours. Always give both sides.
Giving a vague strength. Write "reliable because the same categories can be used again", not just "it is reliable".
Forgetting the scenario. Name the behaviours in the question when you explain your choice.

Exam-style question

A researcher wants to study how teenagers behave when they use a new skate park for the first time.

(a) Describe what is meant by a structured observation. [2 marks]

(b) Describe one behavioural category the researcher could use in a structured observation of this study. [1 mark]

Model answer

(a) Observing a fixed set of behaviours (1) that the researcher selects in advance (1).

(b) Any one from: falling off a board (1); helping another skater (1); waiting for a turn on a ramp (1).

(c) The researcher decides what to write down in their notes (1), so another observer might record different behaviours from the same skate park, which makes the results less reliable (1).

Exam tip

For (c) a weakness needs two parts: what is wrong with the method, and what effect that has on reliability or validity in this study.

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