Chapter 4: Observing the Social Interactions of Children with Disabilities: To Answer Critical Research Questions in Early Childhood

Researchers have used several approaches to gather information about young children, including systematic observations, psychophysiological measures, self-report measures, rating scales, clinical case studies of individual children, and ethnographies which portray the experiences and circumstances of particular groups of children (Berk, 2000; Brown, Odom, & Holcombe, 1996; Corsaro, 1985). Observing children to study a specific behavior or ability provides teachers, family members, and researchers with insight so they can better support and challenge children. Gathering observational data also enables professionals and family members to develop realistic goals for children. Observation was defined by Stetson, Jablon, and Dombro (2009) as “watching and listening to learn about individual children” (p. 1), for when researchers observe children they notice, perceive, watch … but with purpose and focus.