Course project - Experiment as a method of psychology: problems of laboratory and natural experiment - file n1.doc. Types of statistical observation

Test - Experiment as an empirical method of knowledge in psychology. Experiment Types (Lab)
Course project - Study of the influence of the management style of the manager on the level of anxiety of employees (Coursework)
Cheat Sheet - Answers to the Exam in Experimental Psychology (Cheat Sheet)
Course project - Technology for the production of condensed milk with sugar (course)
Coursework - Identification of linear dynamic systems in the class of linear differential equations (Course)
Spur - Test. Interview. Questioning. Experiment. Document (Crib)
Course project - Designing classifiers of technical and economic information (Coursework)
Course project - Minimization of functions of several variables. Descent method (course)
Diploma - Gender Differences in Fashion Psychology (Thesis)
Observation and experiment as the main methods of psychological research (Document)
Course project - Friction Stir Welding (Coursework)
Course project - Room insolation (drawings) (Coursework)

n1.doc

2.1 Observation and experiment.

Is there a significant difference between these two research methods? Already in the thirteenth century, Roger Bacon distinguished passive, ordinary observation from active, scientific observation. In every observation, as in every experiment, the researcher states some fact. The latter is always to some extent the answer to the question. We only find what we are looking for. This common truth, however, is forgotten by many. In consultations and laboratories, cabinets are bursting with protocols of observations that are not suitable for anything either in the present or in the future only because they were collected without clearly posed questions. On this basis, it is clear that the difference between observation and experiment depends on the nature of the question. In observation, the question remains, so to speak, open. The researcher does not know the answer or has a very vague idea about it. On the contrary, in an experiment, the question becomes a hypothesis, that is, it assumes the existence of some kind of relationship between the facts, and the experiment aims to test it.

But there are also so-called "reconnaissance experiments" when the experimenter does not have an answer to his question and sets himself the goal of observing the actions of the subject in response to situations created by the experimenter. In this case, the differences that can be established between observation and experiment are only a difference in degree between these two procedures. In observation, situations are defined less strictly than in experiment, but from this point of view, there are different transitional steps between natural observation and provoked observation.

The third difference, also in degree, between observation and experiment does not depend on the control of situations, but on the accuracy with which the actions of the subject can be recorded. Observation often has to be content with a less rigorous procedure than experiment, and our methodological considerations about observation will focus mainly on how to ensure the accuracy of observation without resorting to standardized experimental situations where the number of predictable responses is limited.

However, it is quite obvious that everything that is said about observation is also applicable to experiment, especially if it is characterized by some degree of complexity.

Watching and observing yourself are two different things. Both require attention. But in watching, the attention is directed outward through the senses. In self-observation, attention is directed inward, and there are no sense organs for this. This is one reason why self-observation is more difficult than observation.

In modern science, only observation is accepted as truth. Everything that cannot be observed by means of the senses or with the help of telescopes, microscopes and other fine optical, electrical and chemical instruments is discarded. It has sometimes been stated that one of the main aims of the present work is to combine the science of the West with the wisdom of the East. Now, if we define the starting point of Western science from its practical side as observable, how can we define the starting point of work? We can define the starting point of work as self-observable. It begins, on the practical side, with self-observation.

These two starting points lead in completely different directions.

A person can spend his whole life observing the phenomenal world - stars, atoms, cells, and so on. He can acquire a large amount of this kind of knowledge, namely, knowledge of the external world, that is, of all that side of the universe that can be detected by the senses with or without adaptations. This is one kind of knowledge and through it changes can be made in the outer world. External, sensible conditions can be improved. All kinds of relief and convenience and easier methods can be devised. All this knowledge, if properly applied, could only be for the benefit of mankind by changing its external environment and to its advantage. But this kind of knowledge of the external can only change the external. He cannot change the person in himself.

Gurdjieff: Only Self-observation can change a person internally

The kind of knowledge that can change a person internally cannot be obtained simply through observation. It is not in this direction, that is, in the direction of the outward feelings. There is another kind of knowledge possible for man, and this knowledge begins by self-observation. This kind of knowledge is not acquired through the senses, for, as has been said, we do not possess any sense organ which can be turned inward, and through which we can observe ourselves as easily as we observe a table or a house.

While the first kind of knowledge can change the external conditions of life for a person, the second kind of knowledge can change the person himself. Observation is a means of changing the world, so to speak, and self-observation is a means of self-change.

But although this is so, in order to study anything, we must begin with knowing ourselves, and knowledge of any kind begins with listening to it, i.e., it begins through the senses. Man is required to say "observe himself" and in what direction he should observe himself, and reasons why he should observe himself, and so on.

And whatever he hears or reads in this connection must first of all enter through his senses. From this point of view, the kind of knowledge that the work speaks of begins with the plane of the observable, just as the teaching of any science does. One must begin by giving external attention to the work. He must watch what is being said, what he can read about it, and so on. In other words, the work concerns the plane of feelings.

For this reason it can very easily be mixed up with the kind of knowledge that can only come through the study of what the senses have shown and, so to speak, lies beside it or has become overwhelmed by it. And if a man does not have the power to discern the nature or quality of knowledge taught by the present work and taught by science, that is, if he does not have a magnetic center in himself which can distinguish the qualities of knowledge, this mixing of the two planes or orders of knowledge will create in him confusion. And this confusion will remain even if a man is at work, unless some effort is made to let the work go where it belongs in himself. That is, he will judge the work only by what he sees, by other people outside of him, and so on. the work will remain, so to speak, at the level of the senses. What is the nature of the effort one must make in this connection? He must effect in his mind the separation of the two orders of reality.

The second reality of man

A person stands between two worlds - the outer visible world, which enters through the senses and in which everyone participates, and the inner world, with which none of his senses meets, in which no one else participates, that is, approaching it is exclusively individual, because although all the people in the world can watch you, only you can watch yourself. This inner world is the second reality and is invisible.

If you doubt that this second reality exists, ask yourself: Are my thoughts, feelings, sensations, my fears, hopes, disappointments, my joys, my desires, my sorrows real to me? Unless, of course, you say that they are not real, and that the table and the house that you can see with your outer eyes are real, then self-observation will not matter to you. Let me ask you: in what world of reality do you have your being? In the world outside of you, revealed by your senses, or in the world that no one sees and that only you can observe - this inner world? I think you will agree that it is in this inner world that you really live all the time and feel and suffer.

So, both worlds can be proved experimentally - the external observable world and the internal self-observable world. You can prove things in the outer world and you can prove things in the inner world, in one case by observation and in the other case by self-observation. As regards the second case, everything that the present work teaches about what you must notice and perceive inwardly can be verified by self-observation. And the more you open this inner world called "I", the more you will understand that you live in two worlds, in two realities, in two environments, the outer and the inner, and that exactly how you should learn about the outer the world that we observe - how to walk in it, how not to fall into the abyss or wander into the swamps, how not to contact bad people, not to eat poison, etc. - through this work and its application, you begin to learn how to walk in this inner world that is revealed through self-observation.

Let us take an example from these two realities, to which quite different forms of truth belong. Suppose a person attends a dinner party. All. what he sees, hears, tastes, smells, and touches belongs to the first reality; everything he thinks and feels, everything he likes or dislikes, etc., belongs to the second reality. He pays attention to two dinner parties, recorded differently, one external and one internal. All our experiences are the same on this path. There is an external experience and our internal reaction to it. What is the most real?

What registration, in short, shapes our lives? - external or internal reality, external or internal world? Is it correct to say that this is the inner world? It is an inner world in which we rise and fall and in which we are constantly swaying back and forth and throwing ourselves everywhere, in which we are flooded with a bunch of negative thoughts and moods, in which we lose everything and maim everything, and in which we stagger everywhere and fall. without even realizing that there is an inner world in which we live all the time. This inner world we can know only through self-observation. Then, and only then, can we begin to see that we have made extraordinary mistakes throughout our lives. Everything that we took for “ourselves” really opens up into the world. In this world, we must first learn how to see, and for this purpose, light is needed. This light is acquired through self-observation.

OBSERVATION

OBSERVATION - a method of scientific research, which consists in an active, systematic, purposeful, planned and deliberate perception of an object, during which knowledge is obtained about the external aspects, properties and relationships of the object under study. N. includes as elements: the observer (subject) N., the object N. and the means N. As the latter, various specially created devices are used in the developed forms of N., acting as a continuation and strengthening of the human senses, as well as used in as tools for influencing an object (which turns N. into an integral part of experimental activity). The main methodological requirements for N. are as follows: 1) activity (not the contemplation of an object, but the search and fixation of the perspective of seeing it that interests the researcher); 2) purposefulness (attention should be fixed only on the phenomena of interest); 3) planning and premeditation (following a predetermined plan or scenario); 4) consistency (guidance according to a certain system for multiple (sufficient for the formulated goals) perception of an object in given modes). Especially at the methodological level of organizing scientific activity, the problem of monitoring the progress and results of N. is discussed, as well as the problem of N. reproducibility associated with it. Important factors in N. are psychological factors that characterize the level of activity and the state of the observer, as well as the factor of his (not) prejudice , "assignments" to obtain a certain result. It is impossible to completely abstract from these factors, which poses the problem of separating subjective strata from the results obtained by N.. There are fixing (grasping of details, sides, parts of an object) and fluctuating (holistic grasping of an object) N. In addition, they distinguish direct (the researcher deals directly with the properties of the object under study) and indirect (not the object of interest to the researcher is perceived, but those consequences that it causes), direct (carried out by the human senses without the use of auxiliary means) and indirect (instrumental) N. Being a universal cognitive procedure, a prerequisite for cognitive activity in general, N. gives primary information about the object in the form of a set of empirical statements. Neopositivism qualified the fixation of the data of experience (N. in the broad sense of the word) as a problem of protocol sentences from which a scientific theory is derived and to which a scientific theory can be reduced in principle for its verification. Linguistically oriented positivism introduced into science the notion of linguistic fixation of objects as their primary schematization. In the modern methodology of science, N. is rarely considered as an independent and universal scientific method: even in the simplest version, N. is always associated with thought processes; in complex procedures, it acts as a necessary, but still auxiliary method. A special theme is the application of the N. method in social disciplines (sociology, anthropology, social psychology). The observer-object relation here is rethought as an observer-observed relation, which can also act as an active agent of the procedure (resist N., change behavior due to the presence of N.'s fact, demonstrate what the observer expects, try to influence the observer). Thus, in this case, the very presence of the observer already creates problems that need to be solved. For the first time, sociology was able to try out a fundamentally different scheme of N., when the observer is included in the vital processes of the group that is being studied (the so-called included (participating) N., in different variants suggesting different degrees of “inclusion”); anthropology has used a similar methodology to study cultures other than the one in which the observer was socialized; psychology methodically provided the method of self-observation (introspection), which significantly expanded the boundaries and possibilities of the N. method as a whole. In addition, in terms of approaches (ethnomethodology, etc.), the very possibility of a fundamental difference between N. as a scientific practice and N. as an ordinary procedure of everyday life has been called into question.

The latest philosophical dictionary. - Minsk: Book House. A. A. Gritsanov. 1999

Synonyms:

See what "OBSERVATION" is in other dictionaries:

observation- one of the main empirical methods of psychological research, consisting in a deliberate, systematic and purposeful perception of mental phenomena in order to study their specific changes in certain conditions and find ... ... Great Psychological Encyclopedia

Intentional and purposeful perception, due to the task of the activity. N. as a specifically human. the act is fundamentally different from the various forms of tracking in animals. Historically, N. develops as an integral part of ... ... Philosophical Encyclopedia

Observation- Observation ♦ Observation Conscious and attentive experience. For example, a person learns by experience what mourning is. If he has the desire and opportunity to do so, he can observe what is happening in his soul at that time. Or let's say he's experienced... ... Philosophical Dictionary of Sponville

Observation, perception and memorization by a person; up to formalization for the subject. Observation method of conducting research in psychology. Supervision of the bankruptcy procedure. Covert surveillance complex promptly ... ... Wikipedia

Inspection, observation, examination; surveillance, surveillance, intelligence; control, examination, verification; supervision, radio surveillance, tracking, vigilant eye, eye, eyeing, empiricism, empiricism, patronage, supervision, mixoscopy, ... ... Synonym dictionary

OBSERVATION, observations, cf. (book). 1. Action according to Ch. observe. Monitoring the exact implementation of regulations. "The careless fruit of my amusements, ... the mind of cold observations and the heart of sad remarks." Pushkin. Under medical supervision. Take under… … Explanatory Dictionary of Ushakov

Purposeful perception, due to the task of the activity; distinguish scientific observation, perception of information on devices, observation as part of the process of artistic creativity, etc. The main condition for scientific observation is objectivity, ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

surveillance with RB-47- Comprehensive surveillance July 17, 1957 UFO aircraft RB 47 US Air Force, equipped with electronic tracking and countermeasures. The onboard equipment of the aircraft noted a strange signal, and then its crew visually observed an unknown ... ... Explanatory UFO dictionary with equivalents in English and German

observation- consists of the values of the variables measured for the same experimental unit. Let's say the patient's age, temperature and pressure constitute an observation. The value of one variable is called a dimension. Synonym: observation … Dictionary of Sociological Statistics

1) the bankruptcy procedure applied to the debtor in order to ensure the safety of the debtor's property and to analyze the financial condition of the debtor. According to the Federal Law On Insolvency (Bankruptcy) of January 8, 1998, the arbitration court, accepting ... ... Law Dictionary

The bankruptcy procedure applied to the debtor from the moment the arbitration court accepts the application for declaring the debtor bankrupt until the moment determined in accordance with the law of the Russian Federation, in order to ensure the safety of the debtor's property and conduct ... ... Glossary of Crisis Management Terms

Books

Monitoring the development of children from 48 to 72 months and recording the results. GEF DO , Peterman U., Peterman F., Koglin U.. Preschool education programs are built taking into account the age and individual characteristics of children. In the process of implementing programs, it is extremely important for teachers to determine in time and accurately…

and ways of observing. We are talking about their allocation in the statistics. We propose to first consider the types of observation that are used in this branch of knowledge. The need to choose a data collection option in it is determined by the fact that there are several types of observation. They differ mainly in the way in which facts are taken into account over time. From this point of view, the following types of observation are distinguished: systematic, periodic and one-time.

Systematic, periodic and one-time observation

Systematic observation, which is carried out continuously and as signs of the phenomenon of interest appear, is usually called current. It is carried out on the basis of primary documents containing the necessary information for a fairly complete characterization of the phenomenon.

Periodic monitoring is carried out at regular intervals. An example is

If the observation is carried out from time to time, there is no strict periodicity, or it has a one-time character, we are talking about a one-time observation.

Non-continuous and continuous observation

Types of observation in statistics are distinguished taking into account the difference in information in terms of completeness of coverage of the population. Distinguish in connection with this discontinuous and continuous. The latter is called one that takes into account all units of the studied population, without exception. However, it is not always expedient and possible to organize it, especially when it comes to product quality control. Continuous observation in this case leads to the fact that the mass of products of enterprises is excluded from the sphere of use. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out partial (non-continuous) observation. It takes into account only a part of the units of the population and gives an idea of the phenomenon as a whole, its characteristic features.

Continuing to consider the forms, types and methods of observation, we note that non-continuous observation has the following advantages:

1) much less communication and labor costs are required compared to continuous, since the number of surveyed units decreases;

2) it is possible to collect data according to a wider program and in a shorter period of time in order to comprehensively disclose within the given limits the features of the population of interest to us, to carry out its deep study;

3) non-continuous observation data are used to control materials obtained from continuous;

4) this species must be representative (representative).

Selection of units in non-continuous observation

Non-continuous observation is deliberately oriented towards taking into account a specific part of the units, which makes it possible to obtain generalizing stable characteristics of the population as a whole. In the practice of statistics, various types of observation methods are used. At the same time, the quality of a non-continuous one, of course, is inferior to the results obtained with a continuous one. However, in some cases only partial observation is possible.

The units to be studied are selected in such a way that, based on the data obtained from them, a correct idea of the phenomenon of interest as a whole is formed. Therefore, one of the main features of non-continuous observation is that the selection of population units is organized in the following ways:

monographic;

main array;

Selective;

Questionnaire.

Main array way

The selection of units of a certain population, which prevail according to the trait under study, involves the method of the main array. However, it is not so often used when a non-continuous view is used, and this method of observation does not ensure the selection of precisely those units that would represent the totality as a whole, all its parts. Selection with the help of the main array is made when the most significant, largest populations are taken, which prevail according to the trait under study in their total mass.

Selective observation

In order to obtain a characteristic of the population as a whole in terms of its units, which is used based on the principles of sampling. In this variant, the random nature of the selection guarantees the safety of the results obtained and prevents their bias.

Monographic description

Let us supplement the types of observation with a monographic description. It is a specific kind of observation in statistics. This is a detailed study of a single typical object that is interesting from the point of view of the population as a whole.

These are the main types of non-continuous observation.

General population and sample

The generalizing indicators of the population in the sampling method are established on the basis of some part of it (rather small - about 5-10%). At the same time, the set from which the selection of this part of the units is carried out is usually called the general set. The part of the units that was selected is called the sampling set (in other words, the sample). When using the sampling method, research is carried out with minimal costs of funds and labor and in a shorter time. This reduces registration errors and improves responsiveness.

Application of the sampling method in practice

Describing the main types of observation, one cannot but dwell in more detail on the selective one, which is very popular. It is only possible when only destructive can be realized. This type is common in departmental and state statistics (the study of the budget of the families of employees, peasants, workers, as well as housing conditions). It is also popular in trade (the effectiveness of new forms of its conduct, the demand for goods from the population), etc.

The sampling method is, in fact, a large one that differ significantly from each other. As a rule, they are based on the principle of random selection from the general population.

Examples of using the sampling method

Examples of types of observation allow you to visually demonstrate their use. Here are some examples of sampling, and you will better understand its features. It is he who is most theoretically developed today from discontinuous ones, since he is based on the principle of random selection. Each unit in the population at random selection has the same probability of being included in the sample. In a lottery draw, for example, this principle applies because there is an equal chance of winning for all tickets. The draw also uses random selection. If 1,000 out of 10,000 schoolchildren are selected for the purpose of studying their performance, then this can be done as follows: write the names of schoolchildren on separate sheets of paper and blindly pull out 1000.

Non-repeating and re-selection

Both non-repeated and repeated can be random selection. In practice, non-repetitive is most often used, that is, the unit that fell into the sample is not returned back to the general population, which means that the number of the latter is constantly decreasing. Lottery draws follow this pattern. The selected unit, when re-selected, is returned back to the general population. Consequently, the number of the latter remains unchanged during the sampling process. If we turn to our example with schoolchildren, we can note the following: in this case, if a sheet with a surname was included in the number of randomly selected ones, it would again come back and again could fall into the sample.

Selection methods by experts

It is very important that no factors, such as the commission organizing the survey or individuals, be able to influence. In other words, it is necessary that the principle of random selection be respected. However, in practice, its implementation is often difficult. There are areas of statistics in which expert selection methods predominate. This situation is due to various circumstances. For example, it takes place when selecting goods for the calculation of price indices or when forming the composition of "baskets" for assessing the cost of living. In such cases, the rejection of the random selection method can significantly increase the accuracy. However, in this case, the objectivity of the study is lost, and sometimes various types of observation errors occur, since everything depends in this case on the qualifications of the expert.

Mechanical (systematic) selection

Often in practice, mechanical (systematic) selection is used. For example, out of 10,000 schoolchildren, a thousand should be selected. In this case, they do this: all the guys are arranged in alphabetical order, and then every tenth of them is selected.

Since the interval in this case is 10, a 10% selection is made (10000 divided by 1000). If the third student is in the top ten (you can choose him by drawing lots), in this case the 13th, 23rd, 33rd ... 9993rd will be selected. With systematic selection, as we see, the general population is divided mechanically into a number of groups, and one unit is taken from each (in our example, one student). It should be noted that mechanical (systematic) selection is always non-repetitive. It should also be emphasized that the selected units with it are distributed evenly throughout the entire population.

Methods of Observation in Statistics

It is necessary to distinguish between methods and types. The latter we have just considered, we now turn to the study of methods. The fact is that the varieties of observation can also be distinguished regardless of the ways and sources of obtaining primary information. From this point of view, a distinction is made between documentary observation, questioning and direct observation.

Direct observation is such an observation that is carried out by counting, measuring the values of certain signs, by taking instrument readings by the persons who carry it out (they are called registrars).

Due to the fact that it is impossible to apply other methods and types of statistical observation, quite often it is carried out using a survey on a specific list of questions. Answers are recorded in a special form. There are, depending on how they are received, correspondent and forwarding, as well as a method of self-registration. Let's briefly describe each of them.

Forwarding is carried out by a special person (forwarder, counter) orally. This person completes the survey form or form.

The correspondent method is organized by sending survey forms to a certain circle of persons prepared in an appropriate way (they are called correspondents). These people, according to the agreement, must fill out the form, and then return it to the organization. The self-registration survey checks whether the forms have been completed correctly. As with the correspondent method, the questionnaires are filled out by the respondents themselves, however, the collection and distribution of them, as well as the control of the correctness of filling and instruction, are carried out by counters.

Forms of observation in statistics

Considering the forms, methods, types of statistical observation, we did not talk only about the forms. There are three of them: a register, specially organized monitoring and reporting. As you can see, the types and forms of statistical observation are not the same thing. You should understand the difference between them.

Reporting is the main form of observation. With its help, state statistics bodies receive information from organizations and enterprises in the form of reporting documents signed by responsible persons.

Specially organized observation is the collection of information organized by the statistical authorities to study phenomena not covered by reporting or for a deeper study of reporting data, their clarification and verification. It is carried out in the form of various surveys and censuses.

We have described almost all the main methods, types and forms of statistical observation. Only the last form remains - registers. It takes place in the case of continuous monitoring of processes that take place for a long time, which have a certain beginning, development and end. The facts of the state of the units of the population are continuously fixed. In statistical practice, business registers and population registers are distinguished. The latter represent a regularly updated and named list of the country's inhabitants. The register of enterprises contains enterprises with various types of economic activity and the values of certain characteristics for each unit.

So, we have considered the forms, methods, types of statistical observation. Of course, we touched on them only briefly, but we noted the most important.

Statistical observation- this is mass (it covers a large number of cases of manifestation of the phenomenon under study in order to obtain truthful statistical data), systematic (carried out according to a developed plan, including questions of methodology, organization of collection and control of the reliability of information), systematic (carried out systematically, either continuously or regularly), scientifically organized (to improve the reliability of data, which depends on the observation program, the content of the questionnaires, the quality of the preparation of instructions) observation of the phenomena and processes of socio-economic life, which consists in the collection and registration of individual characteristics for each unit of the population.

Stages of statistical observation

Preparation for statistical observation(solution of scientific, methodological and organizational and technical issues).

determination of the purpose and object of observation;
determination of the composition of signs subject to registration;
development of documents for data collection;
selection and training of personnel for monitoring;

2. Collection of information

direct filling of statistical forms (forms, questionnaires);

Statistical information is the primary data on the state of socio-economic phenomena, formed in the process of statistical observation, which are then subjected to systematization, summary, analysis and generalization.

The composition of information is largely determined by the needs of society at the moment. Changes in the forms of ownership and methods of economic regulation led to changes in the policy of statistical observation. If earlier information was available only to state bodies, now it is in most cases publicly available. The main consumers of statistical information are the government, commercial structures, international organizations and the public.

Specially organized surveillance

It consists in obtaining data that, for one reason or another, was not included in the reporting or to verify the reporting data. Represents data collection through censuses and one-time enumerations.

It is based on the maintenance of a statistical register, with the help of which continuous statistical accounting is carried out for long-term processes that have a fixed beginning, stage of development and a fixed end.

Forms of statistical research	Types of statistical observations		Methods for obtaining statistical information
Forms of statistical research	by time of data recording	by completeness of coverage of population units	Methods for obtaining statistical information
Statistical reporting	Current observation	Continuous observation	Direct observation
Specially organized observation: census one-time accounting	Discontinuous observation: Single observation Periodic observation	Random observation: selective Monographic observation main array method momentary method	Documentary
Register supervision			forwarding method self-registration method correspondent way Questionnaire method Private method

Types of statistical observation

Statistical observations are divided into types according to the following criteria:

by the time of data registration;
by completeness of coverage;

Types of statistical observation by registration time:

Current (continuous) observation- is carried out to study current phenomena and processes. Registration of facts is carried out as they are completed. (registration of marriages and divorces)

Discontinuous observation- carried out as needed, while temporary gaps in data recording are allowed:

periodic observation - carried out at relatively equal intervals of time (population census).

lump sum observation - carried out without observing the strict frequency of its implementation.

According to the completeness of coverage of population units, the following types of statistical observation are distinguished:

Continuous observation- is the collection and receipt of information about all units of the studied population. It is characterized by high material and labor costs, insufficient information efficiency. It is used in the population census, when collecting data in the reporting form, covering large and medium-sized enterprises of various forms of ownership.

Discontinuous observation- based on the principle of random selection of units of the population under study, while the sample population must be represented by all types of units available in the population. It has a number of advantages over continuous observation: reduction of time and money costs.

Non-continuous observation is divided into:

Selective observation- based on a random selection of units that are observed.
Monographic observation- consists in the examination of individual units of the population, characterized by rare qualitative properties. An example of a monographic observation: a description of the work of individual enterprises, to identify shortcomings in the work or development trends.
Main Array Method- consists in the study of the most significant, largest units of the population, which, according to the main feature, have the largest share in the population under study.
Method of instant observations- consists in conducting observations at random or constant time intervals with marks on the state of the object under study at one time or another.

Methods of statistical observation

Ways to obtain statistical information:

Direct statistical observation- observation, in which the registrars themselves, by direct measurement, weighing, counting, establish the fact to be recorded.

Documentary observation- based on the use of various types of accounting documents.
Includes reporting method of observation - in which enterprises submit statistical reports on their activities in a strictly mandatory manner.

Poll- is to obtain the necessary information directly from the respondent.

There are the following types of survey:

Expeditionary- registrars receive the necessary information from the interviewees and record it themselves in the forms.

Self-registration method- the forms are filled in by the respondents themselves, the registrars only distribute the forms and explain the rules for filling them out.

Correspondent- information to the relevant authorities is reported by the staff of voluntary correspondents.

Questionnaire- the collection of information is carried out in the form of questionnaires, which are special questionnaires, it is convenient in cases where high accuracy of the results is not required.

Yavochny- consists in providing information to the relevant authorities in person.

Statistical Observation Errors

Information obtained in the course of statistical observation may not correspond to reality, and the calculated values of the indicators may not correspond to the actual values.

The discrepancy between the calculated value and the actual value is called observation error.

Depending on the causes of occurrence, there are registration errors and representativeness errors. Registration errors are typical for both continuous and non-continuous observations, while representativeness errors are characteristic only for non-continuous observations. Registration errors, like representativeness errors, can be random and systematic.

Registration errors- represent the deviations between the value of the indicator obtained in the course of statistical observation and its actual value. Registration errors can be random (the result of the actions of random factors - strings are mixed up, for example) and systematic (they appear constantly).

Representativeness errors- occur when the selected population does not accurately reproduce the original population. They are characteristic of discontinuous observation and consist in the deviation of the value of the indicator of the studied part of the population from its value in the general population.

Random bugs are the result of random factors.

Systematic errors- always have the same direction to increase or decrease the indicator for each unit of observation, as a result of which the value of the indicator for the population as a whole will include the accumulated error.

Control methods:

Counting (arithmetic) - checking the correctness of the arithmetic calculation.
Logical - based on the semantic relationship between features.