Observation - Methods in Context: Unstructured Observation Flashcards
What observational methods do Interpretivists favour?
Less structured, more flexible, qualitative observational methods
What do unstructured observations allow sociologists to do? How?
To gain access to meanings that teachers and pupils give to situations by immersing themselves in them
What don’t unstructured observation researchers make in advance of the research?
They do not make assumptions in advance about what the key issues will be
What practical issue do unstructured observations in schools have due to schools being complex places?
Schools being complex places means unstructured observations are more time consuming to observe than many other settings
How long did it take Lacey to familiarise himself with the schools he was observing? (Practical issue)
2 months
Why may unstructured observations in schools be more suitable than interviews? (Practical issue)
It may be easier to gain permission to observe lessons than to interview pupils and teachers
What factors about the researcher may affect the process of observation? (Practical issue)
The personal characteristics of the researcher (such as age, ethnicity and gender)
How did Wright identify that personal characteristics affect the process of observation? (Practical issue)
Wright (African Caribbean researcher) produced some antagonistic reactions from some white teachers
Antagonistic
Someone who actively opposes someone else
What are observations of interactions in school settings limited by? (Practical issue)
The restrictions of school timetables, holidays and control over access
What may the observer find difficult as a result of schools being busy public places? (Practical issue)
Observer may find it difficult to find privacy needed to record observations
Due to ethical issues, what approach to studying research is inappropriate?
Any covert approach
Why does the observation of pupils usually have to be overt? (Ethical issues)
Due to greater vulnerability and the limited ability to give informed consent to pupils
What does Delamont point out that every school observer sees and hears?
Every school observer sees and hears things that could get pupils into trouble
Ethically, what could be argued that the researcher is obliged to do when hearing/seeing something that could get the pupil into trouble? (Ethical issues)
Could be argued that researcher is obliged to report them, however doing so may breach trust between researcher and pupils
What is the main strength of unstructured observations according to Interpretivists?
The validity of them because they give them an authentic understanding of the topic
What is a major barrier to uncovering real attitudes and behaviour of pupils? What is the affect of this?
The power difference between young people and adults. May present false image, undermining validity
Why are observations more likely than any other research method to not be limited by the power difference?
Because it gives the researcher an opportunity to gain the pupils’ acceptance
What characteristic of the teacher means that the sociologist’s data from the classroom observation may lack validity?
The teacher may be quite skilled at disguising their feelings and altering their behaviour when being observed
What characteristic of the pupil may be different to that of the researcher? How does this limit the validity?
The language spoken by the pupil may be different to that of the researcher, making it difficult for researcher to be certain that they understand the pupils’ meanings
Why is it very difficult to carry out covert observation in an educational setting?
Because there are few cover roles the researcher can adopt primarily due to their age
What is very hard to be avoided in the overt observation of classrooms?
The Hawthorne Effect
Around how many secondary schools are there in England and Wales?
Around 4000
Around how many primary schools are there in England and Wales?
30000
Sample that most observational studies focus on
Most observational studies focus on small number of pupils in just one school
Example of small sample observation carried out in school
Willis who studied a core group of only 12 boys
Why is it difficult to complete a large scale observational study in schools? (Representativeness)
Because it takes a long time for the researcher to become familiar with the setting, to gain the teachers and pupils trust and to carry out the actual observations
What two factors of schools means that observing school interaction is unlikely to produce representative data?
Limited scale of typical observational study
Sheer size of education system
Why do PO studies of education tend to lack reliability?
Because data recording is often unsystematic and hard to replicate
What factor of the researcher may alter the validity?
Personal characteristics of different observers may evoke differing responses
