Nonexperimental research designs are characterized by the absence of independent variables and focus on the observation of a specific group with the goal of examining naturally occurring variables. Generally, nonexperimental research designs include naturalistic observation, ethnography, sociometry, case studies, archival research, and content analysis (Borderns & Abbott, 2022). In my opinion, the naturalistic observation design of nonexperimental research can provide the most detailed findings about human behavior because of its high validity. Thus, the data collected through naturalistic observation will most accurately reflect the real world; however, the interpretation of such data will require significant effort.
Naturalistic observation design is widely used in psychology research to define the connections between nonverbal signs and emotions. For example, the research conducted by Danvers et al. (2021) examines the connection between sighing and negative emotionality with the use of naturalistic observation. The study was based on the assumption that regular sighing can be associated with subclinical depression. The research included two different studies: the first study, with 350 participants, presented a survey that asked participants to share their feelings about people who regularly sigh. The results identified that people often perceive sighing as a symptom of stress, tiredness, anxiousness, and loneliness.
The second study included 469 participants in four different samples of people going through certain stages in life – breast cancer patients, divorced adults, and aging adults. The second study did not find significant evidence that sighing can be associated with negative emotions. Therefore, the researchers concluded that even though sighing is often interpreted by people as a sign of negative emotions, there is no connection between frequent breathing and negative emotionality. Thus, the research draws attention to the reliability of naturalistic observation and the importance of correctly interpreting data collected through naturalistic observations.
References
Bordens, K., & Abbott, B. B. (2022). Research design and methods: A process approach (11th ed.). McGraw Hill.
Danvers, A. F., Milek, A., Tackman, A. M., Kaplan, D. M., Robbins, M. L., Poslinelli, A., Moseley, S., Raison, C. L., Sbarra, D., & Mehl, M. R. (2021). Is frequent sighing an indicator of dispositional negative emotionality? A multi-sample, multi-measure naturalistic-observation study. Journal of Research in Personality, 90, 1-44. Web.