Since more than a decade, the practical course ‘Observing Human Behavior’ has been part of the first year of the curriculum at the Department of Psychology at the University of Groningen, based on a textbook written by J.P. van de Sande [1]. Due to technical developments in the field of computer-aided observation and the outcome of an evaluation by students, it has been decided to develop a substantially improved version of the course and supporting educational materials.

In the new course ‘Observing Human Behavior’ we have chosen for a combination of a theory book, a student workbook and a CD-ROM. The theory book provides the theoretical background for the practical course and has to be studied before students can begin with the workbook. The student workbook includes six modules with exercises. In these exercises the student gets acquainted with the principles and techniques of observation, learns how to design scientific research projects, works with practical examples of methodological and statistical procedures, and, finally, practices with The Observer software. The CD-ROM contains a student version of The Observer, observational projects for The Observer and digital video material.

The student workbook offers instructions and questions related to the exercises. The student looks at a digital video clip and is asked to answer some questions. Then he starts an observation either with The Observer or with paper and pencil. Each module explains a particular concept of observation. Module 1 is an introduction to observational techniques and mainly focuses on how to best formulate a research question. In module 2 behavior is the main issue. Module 3 deals with methods of data collection and explains how to define the research design. Module 4 discusses reliability of scores, whereas module 5 deals with how to assess validity of scores. Module 6 considers some techniques of analyzing scores.

We have developed the course with the following design objectives in mind:

• Quality of exercises. The exercises in the course have been tested, reviewed and improved during 20 years of teaching, resulting in a series of interesting samples in which the relevant theoretical concepts easily get across. The computer and video technology has been tested thoroughly during the past year. The digital video format allows highly interactive operation. Experience has shown that students really enjoy working with the material.
• Flexibility. The student is allowed to follow the course individually or while working together with several other students. If a student wishes to do the course on his own, he can find additional observational material in the student workbook to compare his findings with. Furthermore, teachers or students can also use their own examples. For this purpose, video material can be readily digitized and used with the course.
• Variety. The examples cover a wide range of topics within the field of psychology, including development, social interaction and language acquisition. The variety of applications to which the student is exposed enhances his knowledge about observational techniques.
• Practical approach. Statistical procedures are dealt with from a practical point of view. In each exercise students produce their own data. Being familiar with these data, they can more easily interpret the statistical measures pertaining to these data.
• Simple user interface. The course has a plain and scientific look-and-feel. There is no interactive multimedia shell around The Observer. While using The Observer, the student will find instructions on how to use the program in the student workbook. When not using The Observer, the student can view the digital video clips in a normal Windows environment. One of our aims has been to keep the package inexpensive, allowing individual purchase by students.

Some exercises will be demonstrated during the presentation. We hope you will take a look at the exercises and that you want to share your comments with us.

References

1. Sande, J.P. van de (1984). Gedragsobservatie. Groningen: Wolters-Noordhoff. [in Dutch]