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CHAPTER 4: Observation 113RECORDING BEHAVIORKey Concept• The goals of observational research determine whether researchers seeka comprehensive description of behavior or a description of only selectedbehaviors.• How the results of a study are ultimately summarized, analyzed, andreported depends on how behavioral observations are initially recorded.In addition to direct and indirect observation, observational methods alsodiffer in the manner in which behavior is recorded. Sometimes researchers seeka comprehensive description of behavior and the situation in which it occurs.More often, they focus on only certain behaviors or events. Whether all behaviorin a setting or only selected behaviors are observed depends on the researchers’goals. The important choice of how behavior is recorded ultimately determineshow the results are measured, summarized, analyzed, and reported.Comprehensive Records of Behavior• Narrative records in the form of written descriptions of behavior, and audioand video recordings, are comprehensive records.• Researchers classify and organize data from narrative records to test theirhypotheses about behavior.• Narrative records should be made during or soon after behavior is observed,and observers must be carefully trained to record behavior according toestablished criteria.When researchers seek a comprehensive record of behavior, they often usenarrative records. Narrative records provide a more or less faithful reproductionof behavior as it originally occurred. To create a narrative record, an observercan write descriptions of behavior, or use audio or video recordings.For example, videos were used to record the mother-child interactions amongmaltreating and nonmaltreating families (Valentino et al., 2006).Once narrative records are created, researchers can study, classify, and organizethe records to test their hypotheses or expectations about the behaviorsunder investigation. Narrative records differ from other forms of recordingand measuring behavior because the classification of behaviors is done afterthe observations are made. Thus, researchers must make sure that the narrativerecords capture the information that will be needed to evaluate the hypothesesof the study.Hartup (1974) obtained narrative records as part of his naturalistic studyof children’s aggression. Consider this sample narrative record from Hartup’sstudy:Marian [a 7-year old] . . . is complaining to all that David [who is also present]had squirted her on the pants she has to wear tonight. She says, “I’m gonna doit to him to see how he likes it.” She fills a can with water and David runs to theteacher and tells of her threat. The teacher takes the can from Marian. Marianattacks David and pulls his hair very hard. He cries and swings at Marian as theteacher tries to restrain him; then she takes him upstairs. . . . Later, Marian andElaine go upstairs and into the room where David is seated with a teacher. He