Observations Flashcards
What is Patrick’s study that I will link to covert observation
PATRICK :’a Glasgow gang observed’
-he used a covert role to study a violent and delinquent teenage gang
-he observed the gang over a four month period
-he can close to blowing his cover when he buttoned the wrong button on his jacket
-he observed the gang being violent and he often adopted the lookout role
- he left the group when the violence sickened him and he was handed an axe to use in a fight
-when he published after getting out he faced threats to his personal safety.
What is Humphrey’s observation that I will link to covert observations
Humphreys : ‘tearoom trade: impersonal sex in public places’
-he wanted to study homosexuality in the 1960 when it was illegal
-he observed gay sexual encounters in 90 public toilets
-he adopted a voyeur and watch queen role
-he became an accepted part of the gay scene un Chicago
-he found the 54% of his subjects were outwardly heterosexual men
-he noted the car registrations and then used a police contact to get their addresses
-he disguised himself and approached them for interview and adopting a more overt role
-he toke great care to protect the ppts from harm
-he helped to decriminalise it as it was a victim less crime
What is griffins observation that I will link to covert observations
GRIFFIN: ‘black like me’
-he was white so he used sun lamps and medication to change his skin colour
-he was studying racism and communication between ethnic groups had simply ceased to exist
-he changed his skin colour and then travelled to the Deep South to experience racism first hand
-he realised that despite being an academic specialist in race issues he knew nothing until he experienced it first hand
What is the practical strength of covert participant observations
Access -some groups may say no to research involvement - covert can over come this e.g. Humphrey’s accessed the gay subculture covertly because they were very secretive at the time as it was illegal.
What are the practical weaknesses of covert participants observations
- it can be very time consuming e.g. venkateshs research took 7 years
-personal characteristics may hinder acceptance in a group e.g. griffin tried to turn his skin black to be accepted by the group
-covert observations require the researcher to keep up an act e.g. Patrick had to dress appropriately and almost blew his cover when he didn’t button the right button.
What are the ethical strengths of covert participant observations
- the ethical problems can be justified and they are big positive outcomes e.g. Humphrey’s research raised awareness that homosexuality is a victim less crime and it helped to decriminalise it
What are the ethical weaknesses of covert participant observations
- participants are deceived so there is a lack of fully informed consent e.g. Humphrey’s observes sexual behaviour without their fully informed consent then goes to their house
- researchers may have to participate in immoral or illegal activities as part of their cover role e.g. Patrick was handed an axe to use in a fight
What are the theoretical strengths of covert participant observations
-high validity as there is no Hawthorne and ppts are unaware research is taking place
- gather rich, detailed qualitative data and participants in the group gives the researcher insight into meanings so they can achieve verstehen e.g. griffin gets to experience racism first hand which helps him to gain detailed insight
-flexible- sociologist are open-minded rather than starting with an hypothesis
What are the theoretical weakness of covert participant observations
-small samples= lack representativeness
-subjectivity- rather than ‘telling it like it is’, PO tells it as the observer sees it. The observer may begin to over-identify with ppts and ‘go native’
-low reliability as it lacks structure which means that its very difficult to replicate
What is venkateshs studied that I will use for overt observations
-he spent 18 months of 7 years participating the black kings -a Chicago crack dealing gang
-initially had a gun to his head and was held captive as they thought that he was from a rival gang and not a sociologist
-he befriended the gang leader JT and adopted an overt role
-he lived with gang members he gained insight into a poverty-stricken community .
-he observed much illegal and violent behaviour but would avoid hearing the planning of illegal activity so that he wouldn’t have to report it to the police
What is Willis observation at will link to overt observations
Willis : learning to labour
- he studied 12 working class boys and used group interviews and overt participant observations
-he found the boys saw through and resisted capitalist ideology
-he gained access through a school and this led to teachers sometimes thinking that he should discipline the boys but if he did he would become an authority figure to them and ruin the rapport between him and the boys
What are the practical disadvantages of of overt non-participant observation
-may be difficult to gain access to some groups overtly for example criminal gangs e.g. venkateshs overtook approach meant he was held hostage as they thought he was a member of a rival gang
-could be time consuming as ppts may be reluctant ti behave as they normally do
What is the practical advantage of overt non-participant observations
Overt observations tend to be structured so is therefore less time consuming than an unstructured to conduct and analyse.
What are the ethical advantages of overt non-participant observation
+Consent is gained as ppts are aware that they are part of the study
+can be safer and more morally acceptable as the researcher doesn’t have to do anything to prove themself in the group e.g. venkatesh leaves the room when a crime is being planned
What is the ethical disadvantage of overt non-participant observation
-in order to get valid data, some researcher don’t reveal the true aim of their study so although you have have consent it’s not informed consent
