Despite their importance, techniques of naturalistic observation are rarely taught in undergraduate research methods courses. This article describes exercises designed to give students experience in using methods of naturalistic observation to quantify behavior. Students construct a coding system (ethogram) of the behaviors observed in a small mouse colony. This behavioral catalog is then used to gather data by two techniques: instantaneous and focal animal sampling. The data can be used to calculate interrater reliability and then subjected to sequence analysis. The application of naturalistic observation to the quantification of human behavior is considered.
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