Department of Psychology, University of Utah.
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Southern California.
J Fam Psychol. 2017 Dec;31(8):972-982. doi: 10.1037/fam0000370.
Observational behavioral coding methods are widely used for the study of relational phenomena. There are numerous guidelines for the development and implementation of these methods that include principles for creating new and adapting existing coding systems as well as principles for creating coding teams. While these principles have been successfully implemented in research on relational phenomena, the ever expanding array of phenomena being investigated with observational methods calls for a similar expansion of these principles. Specifically, guidelines are needed for decisions that arise in current areas of emphasis in couple research including observational investigation of related outcomes (e.g., relationship distress and psychological symptoms), the study of change in behavior over time, and the study of group similarities and differences in the enactment and perception of behavior. This article describes conceptual and statistical considerations involved in these 3 areas of research and presents principle- and empirically based rationale for design decisions related to these issues. A unifying principle underlying these guidelines is the need for careful consideration of fit between theory, research questions, selection of coding systems, and creation of coding teams. Implications of (mis)fit for the advancement of theory are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
观察性行为编码方法被广泛应用于关系现象的研究。这些方法的制定和实施有许多准则，包括创建新编码系统和改编现有编码系统的原则，以及创建编码团队的原则。虽然这些原则已成功应用于关系现象的研究，但随着观察方法研究范围的不断扩大，这些原则也需要相应扩展。具体来说，需要针对当前夫妻研究的重点领域出现的决策制定准则，包括对相关结果（如关系困扰和心理症状）的观察性研究、随时间推移的行为变化研究，以及对行为实施和感知中的群体相似性和差异性的研究。本文描述了这 3 个研究领域所涉及的概念和统计考虑因素，并提出了与这些问题相关的设计决策的基于原则和经验的基本原理。这些准则的一个统一原则是需要仔细考虑理论、研究问题、编码系统的选择和编码团队的创建之间的适配性。还讨论了（不）适配对理论发展的影响。
