References and tools

Print references

There are numerous books published about observational methods in fields such as anthropology (Spradley, 1997) and sociology (Schutt, 2003). A book specifically focused on classroom observations is An Introduction to Classroom Observation (Wragg, 1999). Observational methods are also described in Michael Quinn Patton's (2002) textbook titled Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods.

Online references

An online introduction to participant evaluation can be found at: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~mid/edr725/class/observation/.

An innovative approach to using video as a research and evaluation tool is described at: http://www.pointsofviewing.com/.

Online instruments, tools, guidelines, etc.

Some useful guidelines for conducting observations are available from the University of Wisconsin Extension Service at: http://cecommerce.uwex.edu/pdfs/G3658_5.PDF.