Knowledge Base

Continuous and Instantaneous Sampling

Aim

To code your observation with a combination of Continuous and Instantaneous sampling.

Prerequisites

• You created and started an observation.
• You chose Combine Continuous and Instantaneous Sampling as the Observation method.

Procedure

1. As soon as the observation is started, the first cell in the Instantaneous sample block is selected. Score this sample according to the general procedure for Instantaneous Sampling.
2. As soon as you finish scoring the Instantaneous sample, Continuous sampling starts and you can score data for the subjects you follow continuously. Follow the procedure described in Continuous Sampling.

Notes on Continuous and Instantaneous Sampling

• What do I do when I score live and my focal subject changes behavior while I am scoring the Instantaneous sample? – Click the row under Instantaneous Sample (#) End and score the behavior for the focal subject. Next, click a row in the Instantaneous sample block to continue Instantaneous Sampling.
• When your observation duration is a multiple of the sample interval (see Specify the Duration of the Observation), no sample is scored at the end of the observation. If you do want to score this sample, make the observation for example 1 second longer. Also an event scored with continuous sampling at the exact moment the observation stops is not included in the analysis.
• When a new sample starts before you have finished scoring a continuous event, you are asked whether you want to finish or discard the event before scoring the sample. This is, for example, the case when you have not yet scored a required modifier.

How To…

Edit the Observation

• Check the event log for errors
• Correct Event Log errors automatically
• Correct Event Log errors manually
• Synchronize data sets
• Change the observation's start time and duration

Edit the Coding Scheme

• Add an element to the coding scheme
• Edit a coding scheme element after observing

Miscellaneous Coding Actions

• Undo coding actions
• Enter events as free text
• Submit an incomplete event
• Score action-reaction data (triggering behavior)
• Score reciprocal behavior
• Suspend an observation

Advanced Observations

• Carry out observations with external programs
• Import data into an observation
• Score data after importing external data
• Export observational data
• Find Events

Check the Event Log for Errors

Aim

To check you scored your observation correctly so that you can analyze it.

Background

Errors in an event log may occur when, for example, you edited the Event Log and accidentally removed start codes but not the associated stop codes, or when you did not score all compulsory modifiers. Event logs with errors cannot be visualized or analyzed.

Procedure

1. Click the Check Event Log button on the Observation toolbar.
2. The Check Observation window opens with a list of the errors.
3. Now do one of the following:
   • Correct Event Log errors automatically
   • Correct Event Log errors manually

How Event Log Errors Are Indicated

An observation that contains an event log with errors has a warning sign next to its name in the Project Explorer. The event rows with errors are highlighted in red. Hover with the mouse over a row for details of the error. See Correct Event Log Errors Manually.

Correct Event Log Errors Automatically

Aim

To let The Observer XT automatically correct the following errors:

• Missing stop codes – These will be added.
• Stop codes without corresponding start code – These will be deleted.
• Gaps in a mutually exclusive and exhaustive behavior group – These will be corrected. If no Initial State event (see Behavior Types) was scored, it will be added. If there is a gap further on in the event log, it will be corrected by extending the behavior that was active before the gap.
• Missing combinations – You may have removed combinations between subjects and behaviors or behaviors and modifiers in your Coding Scheme, while these have been scored in an observation. The events with these combinations will be deleted.

Procedure

1. Click the Check Event Log button on the Observation toolbar.
2. The Check Observation window opens with a list of the errors. Click the Fix Errors Automatically button.

Notes

• If you have multiple event logs within one observation, the event log checker checks for errors between all event logs, for example whether there are overlapping events in the event logs. Such errors cannot be fixed automatically.
• If you find many errors in the event log, that could be caused by some accidental change in the coding scheme, for example the removal of a subject-behavior combination. See Define Subject Properties.