observation Flashcards
what is participant observation
gets involved in the situation
what is covert observation
hidden people dont know they are being watched
what is non participant observation
observes from afar doesn’t interact with the people being observed
what is overt observation
obvious and open people are aware
what are advantages in participant observation
groups are observed in a natural and authentic setting therefore the data is more likely to be a true account of the groups behaviour- higher validity
data generated is detailed and offers insight into social behaviour
what are disadvantages in participant observation
being open ended and subjective research there is no fixed procedure or standardised system of measurement and cannot be replicated - lacks reliability
most participant observations investigate small-scale groups that are not representative of the wider population
Hawthorne effect - due to how the observer is likely to affect the groups behaviour
difficult to ensure anonymity of participants
issues with getting into the group staying in the group and or leaving the group
what are the advantages of non participant observation
there is limited risk of the researcher going native
less chance of the researcher affecting the group behaviour
more opportunity to use research aids - behavioural schedules and notebooks
what are the weaknesses of non participant observation
each observation will be subjective as the researcher has less chance to discover meanings they will have to give their own interpretation of the behaviour - lacks validity
what are the advantages of overt observation
less ethical issues than covert because participants know they’re being researched
higher levels of reliability than covert
the observer can openly take notes
allows researcher to use interview methods to check insights from observation
what are the disadvantages of overt observation
they do not get permission to do the observation
can be time consuming
Hawthorne effect
difficult to repeat
usually a small sample size
what are the advantages of covert observation
no Hawthorne effect
useful when researching behaviours that people would rather keep secret
what are the disadvantages of covert observation
ethical issues- immoral to deceive people
researcher has to gain trust and acceptance which may be time consuming
cannot openly record info so must rely on memory and write in secret
the addition of a new member of the group may affect the behaviour of the group - reduces validity
