Scan Sampling Method Research Articles

Stress Begins in Kindergarten: A Look at Behavior During Standardized Testing

Abstract Kindergarten children's behavior before, during, and after standardized achievement testing was explored through a qualitative study in two classrooms (n = 36). Simultaneously quantitative data were collected in one of the classrooms (n = 21) before and during the testing. Data were collected through observations in the classrooms, interviews with children and teachers, and audio and video taping of the children. For the quantitative component of the study, frequencies of stress behaviors were observed using a scan sampling method. Qualitative findings indicated an increase in behaviors reported to be stress related during the testing and a decrease in those behaviors following the testing. Copying and calling out answers during the testing were also observed frequently. Children also marked incorrect answers, but when interviewed after the test, could respond correctly. Quantitative results supported the qualitative with a statistically significant increase in the proportion of stress behaviors ...

Seasonal Variation in Intragroup-Spacing Behavior of Foraging Isards (Rupicapra pyrenaica)

Some aspects of the intragroup-spacing behavior in isards (Rupicapra pyrenaica), mainly in foraging herds of females with kids and young, were investigated by scan-sampling methods in a Pyrenean reserve from October 1986 to June 1987. Within herds, adults of both sexes tended to be peripheral, whereas the kids were central. The spatial proximity between animals in groups was maximum during the breeding period (June), and minimum during winter (February). Mean nearest-neighbor distances between adult females and between females and kids increased with age of kids. Season, group size, and spacing pattern of females are related.

Activity patterns of a troop of Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata yakui) on Yakushima Island, Japan

Activity patterns of Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata) were observed for 240 hr from August to December 1976 on the western slope of Mt. Kuniwari, Yakushima Island, Japan. Activity patterns and the time budget of a habituated wild troop which consisted of 47 animals in August 1976, were studied quantitatively by using the scan-sampling method at 15-min intervals. Six thousand seven hundred and six animals were recorded in 959 scans during the study period and the mean number of animals seen per scan was 7.0. The time budget established for different categories of activity was as follows: inactive—20.9%; moving—22.8%; feeding—23.5%; social grooming—27.9%; self-grooming—1.2%; and other activities—3.7%. Adult males spent less time in feeding and more time in resting or being inactive than females or juveniles. The daily activity patterns were highly variable with respect to time. Intraspecific variations were examined between troops in several regions of Japan and it was noted that the percentages of time devoted to feeding were similar in all areas.