outline and explain why participant observations are used in sociological research

Question 1

intro

Answer 1

a technique of field research, by which an investigator studies the life of a group by sharing in its activities. It is a positivist approach as it is highly organised, measurable and researches behaviour in the natural world.

Question 2

1

Answer 2

they’re valid, Validity is the degree to which a measurement instrument measures what we in fact think it measures. One study that shows this is fran abrams ‘below the breadline’ study which aimed to study the lives of those in the poorest paid sectors by taking on 3 different minimum wage jobs and studying her colleagues without telling them she was a journalist. This created valid data as the participant did not know she was a journalist so acted normally as there was no reason to change the way they acted to fit the study.

Question 3

2

Answer 3

Representativeness - A use of a statistical population that accurately reflects the members of the entire target population. Participant observations can create data that is high in representativeness. Thiels study in which he used participant observation to find out about construction industry workers was high in representativeness as it used a very diverse ethnic mix including irish, indian, white british, Scottish. This means that with the large range of ethnic groups it can represent the target population