> Much the same way we study great apes or dolphins.

Unfortunately, humans are known to study other species by locking them in cages and cutting them open. :(

It's a good thing Aliens prefer anal probing

Maybe that's why they remain shy and stay at a distance we can only capture them in low resolution and/or grainy videos?

>In that case, they might want to observe us without interfering to see how we behave naturally. Or maybe they have a sort of prime directive

The thing is, assuming this scenario to be true, "they" seem to be interfering with us all the time. Humans have developed an entire subculture, complete with religious overtones, around the belief in interference by UFOs. One would assume the quarantine was breached a long, long time ago.

Maybe they are waiting for/helping us to evolve enough for us to be able to have a conversation with them. Even 50 years ago almost everyone would have found this idea very difficult, as time goes on it gets better.

We also have no idea of being able to relate to their culture which may be radically different than our own. It might be far far more right wing for example and they might see us as a slave race or supremely inferior, which we will probably be.

Waiting till we achieve warp.