| geographical | Of or pertaining to geography. Geographical distribution. See Distribution. Geographic latitude (of a place), the angle included between a line perpendicular or normal to the level surface of water at rest at the place, and the plane of the equator; differing slightly from the geocentric latitude by reason of the difference between the earth's figure and a true sphere. Geographical mile. See Mile. Geographical variation, any variation of a species which is dependent on climate or other geographical conditions. Origin: L. Geographicus, Gr., cf. F. Geographique. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
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| observer | One who perceives, notices, or watches; in behavioural research with humans, the investigator or his/her surrogate. Origin: L. Observo, to watch Nonparticipant observer, an investigator who studies a group of subjects engaged in certain activities but does not directly participate in these activities, presumably being able to study them more objectively. Participant observer, an investigator who while studying the activities of a group of subjects also participates in their activities, presumably being able to gain more detailed, relevant information but with less objectivity. (05 Mar 2000) |
| observer variation | The failure by the observer to measure or identify a phenomenon accurately, which results in an error. Sources for this may be due to the observer's missing an abnormality, or to faulty technique resulting in incorrect test measurement, or to misinterpretation of the data. Two varieties are inter-observer variation (the amount observers vary from one another when reporting on the same material) and intra-observer variation (the amount one observer varies between observations when reporting more than once on the same material). (12 Dec 1998) |