Knowledge Base

Step 1 - Create all settings

create a new project

To create a new project, choose File > New Project. Then:

1. Create settings for your project (see below).
2. Make your Coding Scheme with relevant codes for your research question (page 8).
3. Define Independent Variables, which are factors that remain constant throughout one observation, like temperature, or gender and age of your test participants (page 12).

create settings

To specify how to observe and code your videos, choose Setup > Project Setup.

Observation source

Under Observation source, choose whether you want to observe offline from a video file, or carry out the observation live while the behaviors occur. If you carry out a live observation, you can use MediaRecorder to simultaneously create a video file. Step 1 - Create all settings

Observation method

Under Observation method, choose Continuous sampling. You get a full record of the absolute durations and frequencies of behaviors. Select one of the other options if you want to score at regular time intervals. You will then get frequencies of behaviors, not durations. Step 1 - Create all settings

create a coding scheme

Create your Coding Scheme in such a way that you can answer your research questions with the annotations. Coding can be a time-consuming process. Therefore, it is important to only define the factors that are really needed for your research.

Subjects

If you study only one person or animal in each observation, do not define subjects in the Coding Scheme. Enter their identity in the Independent Variables list (see page 12). If you study multiple persons or animals in one observation, enter their roles as subjects. Enter their identity in the Independent Variables list (see page 12). Step 1 - Create all settings

Behaviors

Define the behaviors that are relevant for your research question and the key codes with which you want to score their occurrence during the observations. Create behavior groups, like in the example below Locomotion, Pecking and Ingestion, and define the individual behaviors within the groups.

Behaviors with and without duration

Behaviors can have a duration or not. Examples of behaviors that have a duration, are Walking or Playing. Examples of behaviors that do not have a duration, or of which duration is not important are Answer Yes, or User error. Behaviors with a duration are called State events and behaviors with no duration Point events. Step 1 - Create all settings

Overlapping or non-overlapping behaviors

There are two types of groups with behaviors. A group in which the behaviors cannot overlap is called a Mutually exclusive behavior group and is the easiest to work with. In such a group the start of a new behavior automatically stops the previous behavior. You only need a key code for the start of each behavior. This makes scoring effort less. During an observation, behaviors may occur that you did not define in your Coding Scheme and are not relevant for your study. To be prepared for this, define a behavior like Other behavior. This way you can stop an active behavior when something occurs that you did not think of when you created the Coding Scheme. Also, all behaviors in the group now add up in time to 100%. If the new behavior is relevant for your study, click the Add new element button at the bottom of the Codes window to add it to the Coding Scheme. If it is not possible to define a group with non overlapping behaviors, create a group in which behaviors can overlap. Such a group is called a Start-Stop behavior group. In such a group scoring effort is higher because you need to press a key when the behavior starts and when it stops. In such a group there may also be time periods in which no behavior occurs. Step 1 - Create all settings

Modifiers

Optionally define Modifiers. Modifiers specify the behaviors more precisely. They can consist of text (nominal modifiers), or numbers (numerical modifiers). If behaviors have a duration, the attached modifiers have a duration as well, independent on whether they are nominal or numerical. For both types of modifiers you can calculate statistics like the frequency or duration. For numerical modifiers, you can calculate additional statistics, like the minimum, maximum and mean values. Scoring modifiers requires pressing extra keys, which makes scoring slower. Therefore, only define them when it is really necessary. This is, for example, the case when you want to know mean values. To specify for which behaviors you want to score the modifiers, double-click the modifier group name and select to which behavior the modifier must be linked. Step 1 - Create all settings If the Modifiers column is not shown in your Coding Scheme, choose View Settings > Modifiers.

independent variables

Independent Variables are factors that can potentially influence the observation, and are assumed to remain constant for a certain subject (like a test person's ID or an animals age) or an observation session (like temperature). Define the variables that are important for your study (in the example below, Brood size, Hatching date and Age of adult). To do so, choose Setup > Independent Variables. Click Add Variable to enter your Independent Variables.

For more information on how to create a Coding Scheme, see Coding Scheme in

The Observer XT Help.

For more information on Independent Variables, see Independent Variables in

The Observer XT Help. Step 2 - Acquire your data

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Source: The Observer XT 17 - Quick Start Guide