ANECDOTAL RECORDS

INTRODUCTION:

Anecdotal or progress notes are objective written a descriptions of observed student

performance or behavior. They are the factual description of the meaningful incidents
and events that the teacher has observed while s dealing with the students. It is also used
for describing a s nurse's experience with a person or group especially in the clinical
setting. Each incident should be written down shortly after it happens.

Anecdotal records can be defined as a brief description of an observed behavior that

appears significant for evaluation purposes. It is a factual record of an observation of a
single specific, significant incident of the behavior of a student.

Definition

Anecdotal records is a record of some significant item of conduct, a record of an

episode in the life of students, a word picture of the student in action, a word snapshot
at the moment of the incident, any narration of events in which may be significant about
his personality.

Meaning:

 Informal device used by the teacher to record behavior of students as observed

by him from time to time.
 It provides a lasting record of behavior which may be useful later in contributing
to a judgment about a student.

Characteristics of Anecdotal Records:

• It is a factual recording only of the actual event, incident or observation, uncolored by

the feelings, interpretations or biases of the observer.

• It is a record of only one incident.

• It is a record of an incident which is considered important and significant in the

growth and development of the student.

• It should include:

- a description of a particular occasion

- a delineation of the behavior noted, indicating who, what, why, when, where and how

- the evaluator's opinion or estimate of the incident or behavior.

PURPOSES:

•To stimulate the teacher to look to information.

•To understand individual basic personality pattern and his reaction indifferent
situations.

•The teacher is able to understand her pupil in a realistic manner.

•It provides an opportunity for health pupil teacher relationship.

•Help the student to improve their behavior, as it is a direct feedback to an entire

observed incident.

•Can be used by student for self-appraisal and peer assessment.

Uses of anecdotal records:

• Record unusual events, such as accidents.

• Record children's behavior, skills and interests for planning purposes.

• Record how an individual is progressing in a specific area of development.

• It provides a means of communication between the members of the health care team
and facilitates coordinated planning and continuity of care. It acts as a medium for data
exchange between the health care team.

• Clear, complete, accurate and factual documentation provides a reliable, permanent

record of patient care.

Basic Elements of Anecdotal Records:

• Students name, Class and section

• Date of Observation

• Name of observer

• Setting or background of the information

• Incident
• Signature of the observer

• Interpretation of behavior and recommendations concerning behavior.

Merits of Anecdotal Records:

1. These records help in clinical service practices.

2. If properly used, they provide a factual record of out. Observation of a simple,

significant incident in the student behavior.

3. They stimulate teacher to use the records and contribute to them.

4. They record critical incidents of spontaneous behavior in natural setting.

5. They provide the teacher with objective description,.

6. They are very good for young children, who are unable to use paper-pencil test. ..

7. They direct the teachers' attention to a single student.

8. They provide cumulative record of growth and developments.

9. They can be used by the counselor as source information for giving evidence.

10. They provide specific and exact description personality and minimizes
generalizations.

11. They provide more complete descriptions of behavior or better suited to

understanding and guiding students than the other observational tools available.

12. They can be used as a supplement to quantitative data.

13. The new members may use these records and acquaint themselves with the students.

Demerits of Anecdotal Records

1. They tend to be less reliable than other observational tools as they tend to be less
formal and systematic.

2. They are time-consuming to write.

3. It is difficult for the observer to maintained objectivity when he/she records the
incident observed.

4. When incidents are noted and read out of context they may lose their meaning
5. The observer tends to record only undesirable incident and neglect the positive
incident.

6. They present only a verbal description of the incident. They do not reveal causes.
Although, the anecdotal records has certain limitation, it is possible to make anecdotal
records effective by keeping following principle in the minds of the observers

FORMATE OF ANECODOTAL RECORD

NAME OF THE COLLEGE…………………

NAME OF THE STUDENT OBSERVED …………………

CLASS……………….

SUBJECT………………….

NAME OF OBSERVER………………………

DATE AND PLACE…………………………

OBJECTIVE DESCRIPTION………………..

COMMENTS OF THE OBSERVER……….

• Restrict observation to those aspects of behavior which cannot be evaluated by other

means

• Concentrate on only one or tir behaviors

• Observation should be selective

• An observation blueprint or guide should be prepared in advance

• Records should be complete

• They should be kept by all teachers and not only by the student's teacher

• Record the incident or action as soon as possible after it has happened

• They should be compiled and filed

• They should have an interpretative value

• They must be available to specified school or college personnel

• They should be emphasized as an educational resource

• They should not be confined to recording negative behavior pattern

• They should be recorded regardless of the directions of behavior

• The teacher should have the practice and training in making observation and writing
anecdotal records.

ITEMS IN ANECDOTAL RECORD:

Anecdotal record is a brief account of a critical incident. Anecdotal records of critical

incidents that occur during a student's clinical experience are quite useful provided
focus is on incident. That reflects effective behaviors and ineffective behaviors. Both
types of incidents should be recorded briefly.

The first part of an anecdotal record should be factual, simple, and clear.

• Name of student

• Unit/ward/department

• Date and time

• Brief report of what happened.

2. The second of the anecdotal record may include additional comments, analysis and
conclusions based on interpretations and judgments.

The first part answers:

• Who was involved?

• Where did it take place?

• When did it occur?

• What happened?

The second part answers:

• How and why the behaviors occurred

Follow ABC rule in writing anecdotal records

A. Accuracy

B. Brevity

C Clarity.

Descriptive reports: The instructor writes a brief report on student nurse's performance
over a given period.

These reports are quite useful if instructor highlights student's strengths and weaknesses
in a systematic way.

Instructor decides what to include in a report and she may quite inconsistent unless she
is guided by some kind of a structure. Otherwise these type of reports turn out to be
subjective assessments.

Anecdotal Notes :

Anecdotal notes are frequently used in nursing education for recording data about the
student's practice and reliability. The concerns expressed relate to the format of the
note, the system of collecting the notes, and the use made of the information collected.

ILLUSTRATION FOR USE OF ANECDOTAL NOTES:

Behavioral objective Evaluation

. Assumes responsibility for explaining
procedures to a school age child before
beginning the task
2. Uses auscultation technique accurately
In two out of three observations recorded in
anecdotal notes, the student the explains the
procedure Criteria for evaluation
1. Explanation precedes the start of the
procedure
2. Explanation is in language understandable
to the child
3. Explanation is accurate
4. Child is encouraged to ask questions and
express concerns
5. Questions are answered accurately and
sensitively .
1. Identifies the proper land-mark
2. Uses stethoscope properly
3. Distinguishes sounds correctly
4. Carries out procedure within. a reasonable
time frame.
Anecdotal notes are valuable to record longitudinal data about the student's progress in
developing practice competency. However, there must be a systematic plan so that there
are no gaps in recording, for a sufficient number of notes must be collected at regular
intervals to describe the developmental process accurately. The quantitative demands of
this approach especially if large numbers of students are involved, often impede the
data gathering necessary for the qualitative judgments required for a longitudinal study.

SUMMARY:

Anecdotes should preserve the sequence of actions and responses of the original
behavior incident. Anecdotes should be objective, accurate and complete as far as
important details are concerned. Good literary style; correct grammar and spelling and
even complete sentences are in-consequential. Words chosen should be precise and
unambiguous, nouns and verbs primarily; subjective terminology exemplified by most
objectives and adverbs, should be used sparingly.

CONCLUSION:

The anecdotal record is useful for the guidance worker and teacher as it present
dynamic picture about the pupil in different situations. An anecdotal record consists of
an objec-tive description of pupil behavior in a particular environmental setting, an
interpretation of the behavior by the observer writing the description, and a
recommendation for further action based on the incident and its interpretation.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

1. Basavanthappa BT .Nursing education. 2 nd edition .New Delhi, India:jaypee

Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd ;2003:p723-734

2. Sudha R.Nursing education : Principles and concepts . New Delhi , India : Jaypee
Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd ; 2013: p 181-183