Table 1 Advantages and challenges of self-report measures vs. observational coding for measurement of eating and feeding behaviors
Advantage | Challenge | |
|---|---|---|
Self-report measures | • Economical • Low participant burden • Data variables easily created • Able to access beliefs and opinions | • Responses limited by what questions are asked and how they are asked • Social desirability bias • Some groups more prone to responses extremes • Participants may not be aware of the behaviors asked about, or choose not to report. • Difficult to know if reported behaviors reflect “typical” behaviors or attitudes and opinions. • Responses may not be in depth |
Observational measures | • Allows for the creation and observation of actual eating interactions. • Can assess multiple participants’ interactions • Able to code quality as well as quantity of behaviors • Able to ask new questions and test new hypotheses not previously tested in the literature • Can review video recordings multiple times to examine behaviors and interactions. • Can control aspects of the environment to test behavioral responses. • Test a hypothesis in a “real life” setting | • Technical challenges • Resource intensive – high cost • Time intensive – data collection, coding and analysis • Higher participant burden • Data variables difficult to generate • Coding is time intensive • Getting reliable is challenging • Hawthorne effect • May not capture “natural” behavior • Limited to the environment captured in the recording. Results may not be generalizable • May lack common coding to compare across studies • Coding schemes are not widely shared or published • Unable to assess attitudes and opinions which may be influencing behavior • Variability in behaviors may not represent “typical” behavior for a participant |