The Observer XT is the professional and user-friendly software for the collection, analysis, and presentation of observational data.
- Code and describe behavior in an accurate and quantitative way.
- Gather rich and meaningful data.
- Record time automatically and accurately.
- New! Combine continuous recording with time sampling.
- Integrate video and physiology in behavioral studies.
- Calculate statistics, assess reliability, and create transition matrices.
- Make clips of those parts of video and data of interest to you.
- Analyze groups of observations at once.
- Filter relevant selections of data.
- New! Search through your data quickly.
- Work as a team on one project.
- New! Code on-the-go using a handheld with Pocket Observer.
With a 20 year track record and cited in hundreds of scientific publications, it is an invaluable research tool for a wide variety of disciplines. The Observer XT combines proven concepts with cutting edge technology to help you make the most of your research.
 | Rooted in manual event recording, The Observer XT contains all the essentials for behavioral research, including:
All can be applied in various settings: live, from video, and in combination with other sources such as a Data Acquisition System. |
The Observer XT turns raw behavioral codes into meaningful information, where other packages leave the translation to you. Over time, The Observer XT grows with you, allowing you to start small and add extra modules or hardware when you need to. We can tailor both the software and the hardware configurations to fit your needs and budget.
Features
The Observer XT supports the entire workflow of a research project.
1: Set up your system
2: Gathering data
3: Data analysis
1: Set up your system
In most cases setting up hardware is a minimal effort. You can benefit from our experience with different hardware set-ups ranging from video recording to interfacing with data acquisition systems, or synchronized starting of other programs or systems. With The Observer XT at the core of your set-up, it is possible to automate the recording of various types of data along with live behavioral coding or to code off-line later.
Designing a coding scheme
Designing a coding scheme is a crucial step in behavioral research. The coding scheme is the actual measuring instrument. Choices made at this stage determine what you can do with your data at later stages.
- Describe complex phenomena in few keystrokes. The coding scheme has a powerful syntax
- Record social interactions, group processes, and other complex behaviors with a minimum of different codes, minimizing learning efforts and errors.
- Add or change codes while observing.
Continuous recording and time (instantaneous) sampling
In The Observer XT you can use both time sampling and continuous recording as methods. Time sampling is a straightforward method that works best in live observations. You sample behaviors at pre-set intervals which reduces your workload. Furthermore, it is easy to learn and suitable for the study of individuals in groups.
 | A great feature of The Observer XT is that you can combine methods. You choose a focus subject or more focus subjects, which you observe and code continuously. At a set time interval the software will remind you to code the behaviors of your other subjects, which you code using time sampling. |
2: Gathering data
The Observer XT was designed to reduce the amount of work and make behavioral coding an efficient task. Behavior is recorded by typing shortcut key codes, allowing you to keep your eyes on the scene, while coding at great speed. The time of each code is recorded automatically and errors are prevented by an on-line check.
Choose your own language. The Observer XT now supports coding, editing, and adding comments in Chinese and Japanese characters. You can make transcripts in your own language.
Record video
The use of video adds great flexibility to behavioral studies. It allows you to make detailed observations and frame accurate descriptions of fast moving phenomena. Moreover, The Observer XT is equipped with fully integrated video recording and playback functions so you can easily position the video, play it back at different speeds, or play it frame by frame. All data play in sync: when moving through the data, the video follows and vice versa. You can also play multiple videos in sync.
Integrate data
In The Observer XT overt behavior and physiological responses can be studied together. Files from data acquisition systems can be imported and then visualized along with the video, revealing the person’s inner world. Synchronization is guaranteed by a continuous sync signal sent from The Observer XT, making the system immune to clock differences, drift, and missing samples. Sections of the physiological data correlating with interesting behaviors can be exported for further analysis.
Pocket Observer
Pocket Observer offers great flexibility and is fully compatible with The Observer XT. It combines the features of The Observer XT with the portability of a handheld computer.
Choose the handheld solution that suits your research best:
- PDA
- Smart Phone
- Robust handheld device
For unobtrusive observations and outdoor use, Pocket Observer is ideal. With Pocket Observer, it is easy to code behaviors accurately in a natural environment. The user interface is especially developed for coding behavioral data live. You can even add behaviors and modifiers to your coding scheme in Pocket Observer, during an actual observation.
Coder Licenses
Work together on a research project, with our cost-effective coding solution. The coding work can be more than one person can manage. Therefore, it can be rewarding to set up a team to work together on a research project. Several observers code at the same time using The Observer XT Coder Licenses. These licenses allow coding and visualization. After all behaviors are coded, you can collect the observations in your main project with a full license and perform data selection, visualization and analysis.
3: Data analysis
If you want to find a specific comment quickly and cannot find it directly in the project set-up, you can use the advanced find functionality.You can search through all or part of your observations to find comments, subjects, behaviors, or modifiers. The software provides you with a list of all the events that meet your criteria. You can click on the result and be brought to the right observation, or export the list of results to, for instance, Excel.
Selecting data
A sophisticated data selection function makes it possible to extract only the relevant bits for each research question. With this powerful and intuitive graphical selection data selection tool you can easily filter out the relevant data. Elaborate filters can be built based on combinations of independent variables, behaviors, and time criteria, such as behaviors being active, or select subjects by gender. The software ensures that all data in a project are kept consistent. The independent variables are for labeling: for example treatment, subject ID, observer, and any other important circumstances.
Large groups of observations can be analyzed at once, saving a tremendous amount of time. All data in the project is available for analysis at all times.
Visualizing data
The analysis of data often begins with visualizing the event log, one or more videos, and physiological data streams. Video and physiology are displayed alongside and all play in perfect sync. The direct reference between video and data is a great tool for quality improvement: coding errors are shown instantly and can be corrected immediately.
- Continuous recording - the track of continuous scored events is visualized as a horizontal bar in which different colors represent different active states. This way you immediately get a feel for the structure of the behavior you observed.
- Instantaneous sampling - samples are visualized as dots. The colors correspond with the colors of the continuous scored behaviors and can thus be compared easily. With a double click on the dot you are able to change the color for more contrast.
Analyzing data
The Observer XT enables you to quantify events you observe. It offers descriptive statistics of the coded behavior, and lag sequential analysis to analyze the order of events. You can also perform latency analysis. Among the possible output are tables of frequencies, durations and other statistics, interaction matrices, and transition matrices. Next to that, synchrony and learning curves are analyzed. You can split up the results in intervals and the layout of results is completely customizable to the requirements of receiving software packages.
- Statistics continuous recording
• minimum/maximum
• mean
• total duration
• standard deviation
• standard error
• rate per minute
• total number
• percentage (observation)
• percentage (interval)
• latency - Statistics instantaneous sampling
• proportion (all samples)
• proportion (scored samples)
• scored samples
• total number of samples
• total scored samples
In collaborative projects it is vital to avoid observer bias. For that there is reliability analysis: observations by different coders are compared record by record and the software reports Cohen’s Kappa, along with a listing of agreements and disagreements. Reliability analysis is also used for intra-rater reliability, as a basic quality check.
Exporting and importing data
The Observer XT is an open system, allowing you to import event data from many different systems and to export data in XML format for use in other systems. The analytical powers of The Observer XT can easily be used on data from UltraVox™. Data from The Observer XT can be used in other packages for further analysis such as:
- SPSS
A Software Development Kit (SDK) is available for developers who want to build their own modules or interfaces with other systems.
Modules
The basic The Observer XT system offers a complete solution for live coding and data analysis. The basic system can be extended with up to six modules:
- Advanced analysis module: allows you to perform reliability analysis and lag sequential analysis.
- Video module: allows for recording and playback of two video sources and creation of video highlights.
- Multiple video module: allows you to play and record multiple videos.
- External data module: synchronizes concurrent acquired data of external data acquisition equipment.
- Coder Licenses: licenses for coding and visualization only.
- Pocket Observer: add-on for live observations on a handheld computer.
- Software Development Kit (SDK): helps you develop your own add-ons and interfaces.