What is naturalistic observation?

Naturalistic observation is a form of research that is performed by observing organisms in their natural environment. The observer takes careful notes and can also make recordings and the observation period may take months or even years. The use of naturalistic observation has a number of advantages along with some different advantages, although there are also some ethical problems and disadvantages that need to be considered. The observer must remain neutral and change anything in the environment outside the inevitable changes that occur as a result of the observer's presence. There are no experiments and intervention is generally not allowed. This technique is often preferred by animal populations, because animals can behave differently when they know they are monitored. Hidden techniques may include planting hidden recording devices and building structures for hiding that allow people to see without being seen. In obvious observation, the observed observer is aware of the observer; In a naturalistic observation of people, for ethical reasons afteronly to use obvious observations.

One disadvantage of naturalistic observation is that scientists cannot manipulate, control, predict or even fully understand variables. This can make testing and demonstrating hypotheses, as experimental conditions cannot be set. Another problem that may arise is the time to carry out research, which can be a significant obstacle to some scientists. It may be difficult to obtain support and financing when the project can take decades.

The clear advantage of this naturalistic observation is that it allows scientists to see the natural behavior of the organisms they are interested in. This can provide very valuable information that can affect future experimental research and contribute to understanding how the organism lives in the wild. For example, naturalistic observations were used to help groups on nature to understand why some species of animals are soDifficult in captivity and identify problems such as restrictions of habitats that need to be taken into account when trying to maintain wild populations of rare species.

Naturalistic observations can also sometimes be the only way to collect data about some problems. For example, experiments on people who could undergo people to damage or expose them are not allowed. However, people can use naturalistic observations to collect information about human populations that live in risky or harmful environments.