"Empirical Observation" - Redundant?

["Mark Erickson" <merick@state.wy.us>]

>I have an undergraduate degree in Psychology. I do not remember any
>differentiation in different types of observation. I looked up the word
>"empirical" in many dictionaries and they all said empirical means "based on
>observation".
>Is "Empirical Observation" a redundant statement? Is there any other type of
>observation other than empirical?

>Regards, Dirk van Putten

Dirk:
     I realize it has been a month since you posted this to the den, however, I have just come across your inquiry.
     I teach a Sociology class at my local college outreach center.  I believe that one can 'observe' in different ways.  In participant observation, the researcher participates in a research setting while observing what is happening in that setting.  'Unobtrusive Measures' or observation, if you will, involves researcher observing people who do not know they are being studied.
     The above are two different kinds of research methods.  Other research methods are surveys, secondary analysis (analyzing data that someone else has collected, researching documents and experiments.



Mark Erickson
e-mail: merick@state.wy.us
phone: (307) 789-9802
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