title: Videotaped behavioral observations: enhancing validity and reliability.
abstract: Observing and quantifying behaviors in natural or clinical settings has long produced challenges for researchers and clinicians. Although nurses are uniquely positioned to conduct behavioral research, they may not be well acquainted with behavioral observation strategies. The author identifies several problems commonly encountered while studying behavior in natural settings and suggests methods for enhancing validity and reliability through videotaped observations. Results of a newly developed calibration procedure are discussed with implications for rater training. Nurse clinicians and researchers should find this information useful for evaluating interventions in clinics, homes, and other applied settings.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, University of Florida, Gainesville 32610, USA.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Elder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001519:Behavior; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research / Q000379:methods*; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D019370:Observation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014743:Videotape Recording