Observations Flashcards
Observations…
Participant Observation is where the researcher joins in with the group being studied and observes their behaviour.
Non-participant observation is where the researcher does not join in with the group behaviour but rather watches from afar in order to observe their participant behaviour.
Most observers (or ‘ethnographers’) will combine their observations with other methods – most obviously unstructured interviews, and some will combine them with more formal questionnaire.
Covert vs Overt…
Covert observations involve the researcher not informing members of the group the reason for their presence; keeping their true intentions secret. This automatically raises ethical concerns.
Overt observations refer to the researcher being open about their intentions in the field and ensuring all members of the social group are aware of what is happening.
Steps…
Determine your research objective. - Understand the objective and goals of your research. Figure out what questions you’re trying to answer, and determine who you’re trying to observe and why. See our article on how to come up with a research objective.
Determine questions and create a research guide - From your research questions, create a research guide that outlines how you’ll approach gathering answers to your questions.
Establish your method of gathering data - Determine whether you will be taking a naturalistic observation or an active participant approach. Decide if you’ll be recording audio or video, taking pictures, and/or taking notes.
Observe - Go into the field and do your observations! Make sure you obtain all necessary permissions ahead of time.
Prepare your data - After the observation, prepare your data for analysis. Get your audio and video recordings transcribed, and start to organise your notes and papers. See our article on how to get audio transcribed.
Analyse behaviors in your data - Dive into the data and make sense of it. Systematically code and organize your data to find themes and patterns. See our articles on qualitative coding to learn more about this step.
Practical…
There are few practical advantages with this method, but participant observation might be the only methods for gaining access to certain groups. For example, a researcher using questionnaires to research street gangs is likely to be seen as an authority figure and unlikely to be accepted.
Time consuming and expensive in relation to the relatively small amount of respondents. It can take time to gain trust and build rapport, and so for this reason, it may take several days, weeks or even months, before the respondents really start to relax in the presence of the researcher.
Observation (especially participant) also requires observational and interpersonal skills that not everyone possesses – you have to be able to get on with people and understand when to take a back seat and when to probe for information.
Gaining access can also be a problem.
Ethical…
Interpretivists and feminist researcher prefer this method because it is respondent led – it allows respondents to speak for themselves and thus avoids a master-client relationship which you get with more quantitative methods.
Ethical problems are mainly limited to Covert Participant Observation, in which respondents are deceived and thus cannot give informed consent to participate in the research.
Legality can also be an issue in covert research where researchers working with deviant groups may have to do illegal acts to maintain their cover.
Theoretical…
You can observe what people do, not what they say they do – In contrast to most other methods, participant observation allows the researcher to see what people do rather than what people say they do.
Participant Observation takes place in natural settings – this should mean respondents act more naturally than in a laboratory, or during a more formal interview.
Verstehen/empathetic understanding– participant observation allows the researcher to fully join the group and to see things through the eyes (and actions) of the people in the group. Joining in allows the researcher to gain empathy through personal experiences.
Low degree of reliability. It would be almost impossible for another researcher to repeat given that a participant observation study relies on the personal skills and characteristics of the lone researcher.
Another theoretical disadvantage is the low degree of representativeness. Sociologists who use quantitative research methods study large, carefully selected, representative samples that provide a sound basis for making generalisations.
Critics also question how valid participant observation really is. They argue the method lacks objectivity. It can be very difficult for the researcher to avoid subjectivity.
Lack a concept of social structures such as class, gender or ethnicity. By focusing on the participants own interpretation of events.
Mac an Ghaill…
Mac an Ghaill illustrates the complexity of subcultural responses by examining the relationship between schooling, class, masculinity and sexuality. He identifies a range of school subcultures.
1.The ‘macho lads’ This group was hostile to school authority and learning, not unlike the lads in Willis’s study.
2.The academic achievers This group, who were from mostly skilled manual working-class backgrounds, adopted a more traditional upwardly mobile route via academic success. They would counter accusations of effeminacy either by confusing those who bullied them, by deliberately behaving in an effeminate way, or simply by having the confidence to cope with the jibes.
3.The ‘new enterprisers’ This group was identified as a new successful pro-school subculture, who embraced the ‘new vocationalism’ of the 1980s and 1990s. They rejected the traditional academic curriculum, which they saw as a waste of time.
This study is often criticised for being unethical as the researcher often casually hung out with the kids. Also the small scale is highly criticised.
