Challenges in observing caregiver-child interactions

Abstract

Observation is used for data collection in many sciences, including ethology, developmental psychology, and early childhood education. This paper aims to examine the observation of interactions between children and their caregivers in (a) clinical/therapeutic settings as well as in (b) early educational/pedagogical context and for (c) research purposes. Subsequently, the process of developing a code system is described. We review common pitfalls when coding observational data and present ways to avoid them. Observation can be time and energy consuming. Nevertheless, when compared with other research methods, it provides more detailed and accurate information about young children and their interactions with their caregivers. For all these reasons, observation of interactions is unavoidable and should be pursued.