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You
are in: ObsWin
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ObsWin
Observational Data Collection & Analysis
©2008 Neil Martin, Chris
Oliver & Scott Hall |
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Distributed exclusively by Antam, ObsWin for Windows is an
integrated software package for the collection and analysis
of observational data |
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Variables
(e.g. behaviours or environmental events) can be simultaneously
recorded either in real time, or by linking data collection
to a digital video file, using a mouse or the computer keyboard.
Variables can be defined for either momentary and/or duration
recording |
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The
resulting data are stored in Timed Sequential Data (TSD) format.
The program will also read in data collected using
existing data collection programs - Observer 3.0, Repp (Communitech
International) *.BEH datafiles and PSION *.ODB datafiles -
as well as comma delimited text files |
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In
addition to the display and analysis of single files, a fileset
(a list of multiple datafiles) can also be loaded allowing
the analysis of multiple files |
Click
thumbnails to view enlarged graphics
Collecting
Data

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Up
to 62 variables may be defined for data collection (including
upper case and lower case letters) either as events or durations |
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Up
to 7 mutually exclusive codesets may also be defined. |
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Auto-save
option backs up data at intervals avoiding major calamities
such as batteries running out |
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Quick
save allows one to begin another observation within seconds |
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Notes
may be collected during an observation session and are saved
with datafile |
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Data
collection controls may be directly linked to a digital video
file (supports *.MPG, *.AVI, *.WMV, *.QT, *.MOV, *.VOB [DVD]
formats) |
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Observation
settings are saved (optionally, along with other general program
settings) when you quit ObsWin, so that you do not have to
spend time setting up your observation settings each time
you wish to conduct a similar observation (e.g. using same
variables, mutually exclusive sets etc.). Settings can also
be saved in separate files that can be loaded when needed |
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Data
Editing

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Datafiles
are opened into a spreadsheet-like grid that allows in-place
editing |
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Data
integrity checks ensure that edited data remain in timed sequential
format prior to analyzing and saving |
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New
variables may be defined according to a number of criteria
(e.g. combinations of the presence/absence of other variables)
and are saved to the datafile for future analysis |
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Graphing
Data

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Occurrence
graphs allow the temporal display of all selected variables,
either second by second or in intervals |
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A
cumulative onset graph plots the cumulative onset of a
criterion variable and marks the onset of a target variable.
This can be a useful way of (visually) identifying interval
schedules |
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A
frequency per interval graph allows one to plot the frequency
per n intervals |

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A
summary statistics bar chart shows the percentage occurrence
of each selected variable in the datafile. If a fileset is
being graphed one has the choice of displaying graphs for
each file, summing the data across the files or using the
means (the latter results in the option to display error bars
giving an indication of the variance for each variable) |
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All
graphs may be saved as Windows metafiles or bitmaps |
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Analyzing
Data

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The
Variable Summary Statistics option gives percentage occurrence,
mean occurrence, number of onsets/offsets, frequency per n intervals etc.
Once displayed on screen, there are options to print,
save (in spreadsheet format) or graph the data |

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Data
Output
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All
resulting data are saved to a listing file that can be accessed
by the ObsWin editor for printing, saving separately, annotation
etc.
One can easily scroll through each of the analysis
output entries or directly access specific data |
Inter-Observer
Reliability
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Inter-Observer
Reliability may be easily computed for single or multiple
pairs of datafiles. Statistics are presented as overall percentage
agreement, agreement on occurrence, agreement on non-occurrence
and (Cohen’s) Kappa |
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One
can easily scroll through each of the analysis output entries
or directly access specific data |
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Ordering
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ObsWin
is available for £500 – price includes the Windows program
itself, a DOS version of the data collection program (for
notebooks, palmtops etc.), a Windows CE version of the data
collection program (for H/PCs and P/PCs), manual and technical
support |
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The
license agreement permits one to use one copy of the main
Windows program on a single computer although the data collection
programs may be freely distributed for data collection on
any number of computers (e.g. laptops, palmtops etc.)
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Evaluation copies
of the program may be downloaded
from this website
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References
| Martin,
N., Oliver, C., & Hall, S. (1999). ObsWin: Observational
Data Collection & Analysis for Windows. CTI Psychology
Software News, 9, 14-16. |
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| Kahng,
S., & Iwata, B. A. (1998). Computerized systems for collecting
real-time observational data. Journal of Applied Behavior
Analysis, 31, 253-261. |
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