covert observation

Question 1

t - advantage - Hawthorne Effect

Answer 1

. eliminates Hawthorne effect - pps are unaware they are being studied
. more likely to behave naturally
. more validity

Question 2

t - advantage - reluctance
example

Answer 2

. some societal groups are reluctant to be studied so overt may be only way to study them
e. anti school subcultures may be suspicious of researchers asking questions

Question 3

who favours overt observation

Answer 3

interpretivists

Question 4

t - disadvantage - notes
example

Answer 4

researcher unable to make notes openly
. has to rely on memory and may forget some points
. lowered validity
e. Hammersly admits he may have made mistakes or relied on his own interpretations in recording conversations in school classrooms

Question 5

p - disadvantage - act

Answer 5

. requires great deal of skill to keep up an act so that you are not discovered
. can be stressful (psychological harm)

Question 6

p - disadvantage - suspicion

Answer 6

. researcher cannot ask naive questions without arousing suspicions

Question 7

p - disadvantage - impractical
example

Answer 7

. can be impractical for studying some groups
e. when studying groups of students in classrooms there are few ‘cover roles’ the researcher can take when studying people much younger than themselves

Question 8

e- disadvantage - consent
example

Answer 8

. no informed consent as pps don’t know they’re in a study
. leads to deception and exploitation
e. age and vulnerability of school children makes covert observation highly unethical and inappropriate

Question 9

e - disadvantage - lies
example

Answer 9

. covert observers have to lie about their reason for leaving the group
e. patrick simply abandoned the gang

Question 10

e - disadvantage - immorality

Answer 10

. when studying criminal groups the observer may have to take part in immoral or illegal activities in their ‘cover’ role