Unstructured observation

It refers to one of the ways of using observation as method of primary data collection. In this type of observation, the observer monitors all aspects of the phenomenon that seem relevant to the problem at hand. For example, observing children playing with new toys. This form of observation is appropriate when the problem has yet to be formulated precisely and flexibility is needed in observation to identify key components of the problem and to develop hypotheses. However, in this form of observation there is high probability of observer’s bias.