Naturalistic observation is a type of field study. It involves non-experimental approaches used in the field studies or in real-life settings. In the naturalistic observation method the researcher very carefully observes and records some behavior or phenomenon, sometimes over a prolonged period, in its natural setting.
1. One example of naturalistic observation would be the study of bears hunting for salmon during the salmon's annual migration to their spawning grounds. Most people are familiar with the scene in which bears choose various locations from which they try to catch the passing salmon that are often exhausted from their upstream swims to their spawning grounds.
2. Another naturalistic observation involves observations oft the growth of bacteria cultured in a suitable medium in a petri dish.
3. A naturalistic observation is the practice of bird watching which involves watching and listening to birds in their natural environment, often with the aid of high power binoculars.
4. There are certain caves from which millions of bats emerge at dusk each day to begin their nocturnal hunting for insects and other sources of food. Knowing where these caves are and arriving before dusk gives observers the opportunity to observe these creatures in flight knowing that they use echo-location to avoid each other and other obstacles while in flight.
5. There are ships depart from various ports on the west coast of the United States during certain months of the year. These ships take passengers a short distance offshore to the known migratory routes of whales that transit south along the coast of North America every year to their breeding grounds in the waters off Baja California.
Observing bees taking nectar from a flower
Observing children at play in a playground witho
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