Observational Research Methods
Observational Research Methods is a way of studying people or animals by watching what they do without changing anything.
Think of it this way
A tray of cookies sits on the counter, and a jar of milk sits beside it. You watch to see which cookies go first and how much milk gets poured each time. You do not move the cookies or change the milk — you just write down what you see. The tray, the jar, and the counter stay just as they are the whole time.
Explaining observational research methods by grade level
You can learn a lot just by watching. If you sit in a parking lot and look at where cars park, you might see a pattern. Maybe most people pick the same row. You did not change anything. You just watched and wrote down what you saw.