Watching how people behave in the workplace before and after you make a safety and health change may give you good evidence about the effects of the change. Observation allows you to collect fairly continuous information about how the work is done and about the change in the workplace procedures while it is in use.

Follow these guidelines when you observe people:

• Decide in advance which behaviors to look for.
  
  
• Vary your observations so that they are a more-representative sample of people and time periods.
  
  
• Record your observations. This may involve watching people in person and recording their actions on a checklist. It could also involve recording people on video tape and then categorizing their actions later with the checklist.
  
  
• Whether you record people on tape or not, explain what you’re doing and why, and get their permission before you observe. Even though they know you’re watching, most people will quickly forget about it. Remember that the presence of an observer may affect what people do.

For more information on carrying out interviews focus groups, and observations click on:http://www.iwh.on.ca/archive/pdfs/eval_gde.pdf Once there, go to page 67.