Anthropology and O.R.: The Place of Observation in Management Science Process

Strategies for Increasing the Accuracy of Interviewer Observations of Respondent Features

“…For other interviewers, the observational task may be quite difficult (e.g., inability to access a locked building of apartments, working in crowded urban areas, etc. ), leading to a failure to pick up on important external visual cues and subsequent guessing or “going on hunches.” In these situations, observations would be expected to have reduced accuracy (Feldman et al, 1951; Kazdin, 1977; Jones et al, 1979; Graham, 1984; Funder, 1987; Most et al, 2005; Simons and Jensen, 2009). Other interviewers may attempt to pick up on several different relevant predictors of a feature being observed as well as specific features of a given household or respondent.…”

“…For other interviewers, the observational task may be quite difficult (e.g., inability to access a locked building of apartments, working in crowded urban areas, etc. ), leading to a failure to pick up on important external visual cues and subsequent guessing or “going on hunches.” In these situations, observations would be expected to have reduced accuracy (Feldman, Hyman, & Hart, 1951; Funder, 1987; Graham, 1984; Jones, Riggs, & Quattrone, 1979; Kazdin, 1977; Most, Scholl, Clifford, & Simons, 2005; Simons & Jensen, 2009). Other interviewers may attempt to pick up on several different relevant predictors of a feature being observed as well as specific features of a given household or respondent.…”