Knowledge Base

Advanced Observations

Import Data into an Observation

Import Event Data

You can import event data in the form of:

• Observational data files from The Observer 4/5, The Observer XT, and Pocket Observer.
• External observational data files: any data files in which events are organized in rows.

For transferring files between The Observer XT and Pocket Observer, see the Pocket Observer Reference Manual.

Import External (Physiological) Data

For the detailed procedure, see the External Data section.

Import Video or Audio Files

• If you still have to create the observation in which to import the media files: Choose File > Import > Video in New Observation or Audio in New Observation. Name the observation and click OK. Then select the media file.
• If you have created an observation and you want to add media files to it: Make sure the observation is open on your screen. Choose Observe > Video (or Audio) > Open in Current Observation. Alternatively, click the Import Video or Import Audio button on the toolbar. Browse to the video/audio files and click Open.

Export Observational Data

You can export observations to The Observer XT files (*.odx format), to Microsoft Excel format (*.xlsx format), or to text files. Choose File > Export > Observational Data. Choose the observations to export. If you want to export only one observation, open the observation and click the Export Current Observation button on the toolbar.

Carry Out Observations with External Programs

What Is an External Program?

In The Observer XT, an external program is software that you can use in combination with The Observer XT to record additional data. For example, MediaRecorder controlled with The Observer XT to automatically start and stop video recording together with an observation and import the videos into the observation.

How to Carry Out Observations with External Programs

Carry out an observation in the usual way. The external program starts and stops together with the observation, according to the settings you specified for the external program.

Score Data after Importing External Data

1. Create a new observation.
2. Import the external data.
3. If necessary, synchronize the external data files with the (still empty) Event Log file by adjusting the Offset.
4. Start the observation and score data.

Find Events

Aim

To find events, or free text entered in the Event Log's Comment column. You can export these events or copy and paste them to another program.

Prerequisites

• You carried out at least one observation.
• One of your observations is open.

Procedure

1. Press Ctrl+F or click the Find Events in the Selected Observations button.
2. Specify the criteria by choosing options from the lists and click Find. For subjects and behaviors, you can either choose Any, or a specific one.

Notes on Comments

• To search for an event containing specific text in the Event Log's Comment column, enter this text in the Comments field.
• To search for a specific sequence of words, type the words between quotes, for example "Where is the puppet?".
• To search for a word OR another, type those words without quotes, for example: chalk shoe.

Modifiers

If you select modifiers in two or multiple groups, the program searches for events which contain any of these modifiers. For example, if you select Play Alone for the modifier group Play Mode and Play Imaginary for the group Play Type, all events containing either Play Alone or Play Imaginary are found.

Numerical Modifiers

• To search for events with a specific value of the modifier, unfold the Modifier group item, choose Exact Value and enter that value.
• To search for events with multiple values, unfold the Modifier group item, select Range and enter the limits.

Customize the Found Events

• Click a column header to sort the events.
• To show or hide columns, right-click a column header, choose Show Column and make your selection.
• If you have start-stop groups in your coding scheme, you can hide stop events in the Find window by selecting Hide Stop Events. This is useful if you want to export the list of events and use those data in a statistical package.
• To reset the search criteria, click Reset.

Export the Found Events

• To export all events, click the Export All Events button in the bottom-right corner of the Find window.
• To export a selection of events, make your selection and click the Export Selected Events button.
• You can also copy events and paste them into another program like Excel.

Notes

• You cannot use Find in another part of the program other than the observation, for example when an Event Plot or Analysis Result is open.
• You cannot make a selection of some subjects or behaviors and not others. If this is what you want, create a Data Profile instead. See Select Data for Analysis.
• You cannot use wildcards like * or ?. The Observer XT will search for events containing those characters.

The Observation Screen

• Choose the windows to view
• Position and resize the windows on the screen
• The Timers window
• The Codes window
• The Event Log window
• The Data and Audio Visualization window
• The Playback Control window
• The Videos window