Lawrence Shulman

The Use of a Category Observation System for Analyzing Videos of Group Practice: Analysis of 30 Hours of Video of Family and Group Sessions

This article describes the development, testing, and implementation of a category observation system for the analysis of videotapes of practice with individuals, families, and groups. The article illustrates how a category observation system can be used to conduct a detailed computer analysis of the interaction between the group leader and the group members (the authority theme) and the interactions between members (the intimacy theme). Videotapes of 30 group sessions led by 11 professionally trained practitioners were rated with 1 of 13 entries every 3 seconds. This yielded 58,675 discrete observations of 60 hours of group. In addition, 32 hours of individual counseling were also included in the sample totaling 99,500 discrete observations.