Participant Obervation Flashcards

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1
Q

What is participant observation

A
  • when the researcher actually takes part in an event or everyday life of the group whilst observing
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2
Q

What are the 2 main issues faced when conducting a participant observation

A
  • getting in, starting in and getting out

- whether to use over or covert observation

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3
Q

Getting in

A
  • to be able to study you must gain entry
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4
Q

Making contact:

A
  • making contact with the group depend on personal skills

- NED POLSKY: used his good pool skills gaining entry to the world of the poolroom hustler

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5
Q

Acceptance:

A
  • to gain entry to the group the researcher will have to win their trust and acceptance
  • age, sex, class or ethnicity may be an obstacle
  • GRIFFIN: used medication to change his skin colour and to pass as a black man in the Deep South of USA to experience impact of white racism
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6
Q

Observers role:

A
  • it is the role of the researcher that the researcher should adopt
  • be one that doesn’t distrust that groups normal routine
  • offer a good vantage point from which to make observation
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7
Q

Staying in

A
  • once accepted the researcher needs to be able to stay in the group and compete the study
  • there can be a key problem where the researcher is involved to understand but be detached to remain objective and unbiased
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8
Q

‘Going native’

A
  • when becoming too involved or going native which will lead the researcher ever to become biased
  • when this happens the researched stops being an objective observer and became part of the group
  • PUNCH study of Amsterdam police:
  • he started over identifying himself as a police (holding suspects, searching houses, cars etc)
  • the more time they spend in he group the less strange it is
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9
Q

Getting out

A
  • re entering ones normal world can be difficult
  • WHYTE: found it difficult to return to Harvard after studying a gang so he was unable to communicate
  • loyalty prevents them from fully disclosing everything they have learnt due to fear that this might harm members of the group
  • E.G. gang members could have prosecution
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10
Q

Overt observation

A
  • when the researcher reveals his or her true identity and purpose to the group and asks their permission to observe
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11
Q

Advantages of overt observation

A
  • avoids ethical problem of obtaining information by lying
  • allows observer to ask the kind of naive but important that only an outsider could ask
  • take notes openly
  • use interview methods to check insights for observation
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12
Q

Disadvantages of overt observation

A
  • a group can refuse the researcher permission to observe them
  • it risks creating the Hawthorne Effect
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13
Q

Covert observation

A
  • the study is carried out under cover
  • the researchers real identity and purpose are kept concealed
  • they take on false identity and role (as a genuine member of the group)
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14
Q

Disadvantages of cover observation

A
  • requires to keep an act and need detailed knowledge of the groups way of life even joining it
  • can’t take notes openly and must rely on memory and opportunity to write them in secret
  • it’s immoral to deceive people whilst obtaining information by pretending to be their friend
  • they might have to participate in illegal activities to cover their role
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15
Q

Advantages of participant observation

A
  • by observing we obtain rich eyal qualitative data that provides a genuine picture
  • gives us insight and ‘verstehen’ (empathy) due to rapport with the group and gain trust
  • it’s flexible since they need to enter with an open mind as new situations will develop new explanations
  • being open minded allow discovery to other things that other methods may miss
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16
Q

Disadvantages of of participant observation (1)

A
  • it’s time consuming
  • it costs since researchers need training
  • stressful and demanding (covert)
  • age, sex, class or ethnicity may restrict what kinds of group you can study
  • some groups may not want to be studied this way so they have he power to restrict access
17
Q

Disadvantages of participant observation (2)

A
  • unethical since it deceives people in order to obtain information
  • groups are small and the sample is selected so they can’t make generalisations
  • unreliable; it produces qualitative data so it can’t be compared or replicated to other studies
  • bias; going native makes it difficult to remain objective
  • loyalty of the group can make the researcher protect the group members to not record everything
18
Q

Why do positivists not like PO

A
  • findings are subjective and biased impressions of the researcher rather than simply telling what the observer sees
  • researchers select what facts they think are worth recording and what is most likely to fit in their research
  • Hawthorne effect