Observations in public settings

Abstract

Straightforward observation of children in their everyday environments is a more appropriate method of discovering the meaning of their relationships to nature than complex methodologies or reductionist commonsense thinking. Observational study requires an explicit conceptual framework and adherence to procedures that allow scientific inference. Error may come from those being studied, the investigator, or the sampling procedure. Systematic observation is one of the most useful ways of learning about the complex interrelationships of a child's world.

Parent Publication

• Children, nature, and the urban environment: proceedings of a symposium-fair

Citation

Lee, Robert G. 1977. Observations in public settings. In: Children, Nature, and the Urban Environment: Proceedings of a Symposium-Fair; Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-30. Upper Darby, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station. 122-127