Observation

Question 1

Whyte
‘Street Corner Society’

Answer 1

Observers Role
Refused to take leadership roles but settled for a ‘Secretarial’ role meaning that he could stay distanced enough from the group yet take notes during meetings

Question 2

Thornton
‘Rave Culture”

Answer 2

Getting In
Thornton’s age meant she was slightly older than the group she was studying making it more difficult to be accepted by the group

Question 3

Griffin
‘Black Like Me’

Answer 3

Getting In
To gain acceptance into ‘the Black culture’ in America, Griffin (white male) used sun lamps and medication to turn his skin black

Question 4

Patrick
‘ A Glasgow Gang Observed’

Answer 4

Making Contact
Was able to join a Glasgow gang because he looked quite young and knew one of its members from having taught him in a young offenders institution

Question 5

Punch
‘Policing the Inner City’

Answer 5

Staying In
In order to be accepted by the police, Punch over identified with them even acting as a ‘policeman’ himself

Question 6

Patrick (GO)
‘ A Glasgow Gang Observed’

Answer 6

Getting Out
Researcher can simply call a halt and leave
^ The violence of the Gangs culture was too much

Question 7

Whyte (overt)

Answer 7

2 of the Amsterdam police told Whyte “When you were with us, we only let you see what we wanted you to see”
^ Affects validity

Question 8

Festinger and Ditton

Answer 8

Sociologists cannot usually take notes openly and must rely on memory / opportunity
^ Took notes in the toilets

Question 9

Yablonksy (prac adv)

Answer 9

A teenage gang is likely to see researchers who come armed with questionnaires as unwelcome representatives of authority

Question 10

Flanders System of Interaction analysis categories (FIAC)

Answer 10

. Structured observational schedules favoured by positivists
. Used to measure pupil - pupil and pupil - teacher interactions quantitatively

Question 11

Delamount (FIAC)

Answer 11

Using FIAC ignores the meanings that pupils and teachers attach to interactions

Question 12

Eggleston

Answer 12

Needed over 3 months just to set up his cover role for his observation
^ time and cost

Question 13

Delamount (ethics)

Answer 13

Every observer in a school sees and hears things that could get pupils into trouble - ‘guilty knowledge’

Question 14

King (HE)

Answer 14

Tried to blend into the background in an infant school by initially spending short periods in the classroom, avoided eye contact and politely refused their requests for help

Question 15

Ball (King)

Answer 15

Childs acknowledgement undermined the validity of his findings

Question 16

Wright (reliability)

Answer 16

Found as a black female, she was met with hostility by some white teachers, but was accepted by black pupils. A white male researcher may have found the opposite