participant observation

Question 1

case study

Answer 1

humphreys
griffin
patrick
Venkatesg
Making of a mooney

Question 2

humphreys

Answer 2

·Humphreys was interested in men who participated in sexual activity in public places. In 1960s America – homosexuality was illegal and very much taboo. Humphreys acted as the ‘watch queen’ – the lookout.
Obtained personal information about the men he observed using their license plates & through police contacts was able to get their addresses & background information.
He then visited them asking them to take part in ‘market research’. Interviewing participants as part of a health survey 1 year later.
Humphreys had to disguise his appearance during this survey so he wouldn’t be recognised by men he had met.
Found: just 14% of the men were actively part of the gay community. Most were in a relationship with a woman (often married), but their relationship involved little sex.
The men sought an alternative source of sex that was quick, private and did not threaten their relationships.
Humphreys had to protect the identity of his respondents.
The outrage caused by his study led to unrest with colleagues – they worried that Humphreys had damaged the social standing of Sociology.

Question 3

patrick

Answer 3

• Patrick was a teacher at a behaviour school in Scotland. Took up
the invitation by Tim – a sixteen year old juvenile offender to come
and see for himself what it was like in the ‘Young Team’ – a
Glasgow gang of which Tim was the leader.
• Posing as Tim’s friend from school, Patrick joined the gang
between October 1966 and January 1967.
• He had to change his clothes and speech to be accepted and to
maintain his cover. Patrick was almost found out when he bought
his suit with cash instead of credit and when he fastened the
middle button of his jacket rather than the top one.
• Patrick began recording his observations – one incident the gang
decided to trash a library, setting things on fire and assaulting
someone.
• In one instance, the gang handed Patrick an axe to use in an
expected fight. Sickened by the violence, he abondaned the study
abruptly.

Question 4

griffin

Answer 4

·Investigated racism towards black people in southern states – 60s.

·Southern states were heavily segregated and the racist KKK were strong in the south.

·Public places such as schools, cafes, hotels, transport & toilets were all racially segregated and black people faced discrimination in housing, jobs and political and civil rights.

·He wanted to experience racism first hand so he used sun lamps and medication to turn his skin black.

·He found that even though he was a university professor and expert on race issues, he really knew nothing until he saw it for himself.

Question 5

Barker making of a moonie

Answer 5

A study of members of the Unification Church, a controversial religious
sect headed by the Revd Moon.
* At the time there was bad press and accusations of the Unification
Church corrupting, kidnapping, and brainwashing their members and
she wanted to investigate whether these accusations were true.
* Over 6 years Barker lived with the Moonies at various centres,
accepting the risk that this could mean the peple she was studying
could be affected by her presence.
* She attended meetings, workshops and communal facilities of the
Unification Church.
* She found no evidence of any brainwashing.

Question 6

Venkatesh gang leader for a day

Answer 6

Venkatesh spent 18 months, spread over 7 years, participating in the life of the Black Kings – a Chicago crack-dealing gang.
He lived with gang memebers, & slept on the couches and floors of people’s apartments and of crack dens to gain insights into life in a poverty-stricken community.
He observed much illegal & violent behaviour during his periods of participation.
Throughout his participation, Venkatesh was able to gain insights into the lives of drug-dealing gang members, squatters, prostitutes, pimps, police officers & others linked to the drug-selling business.

Question 7

participant observation practical advantage

Answer 7

The sociologist gains first-hand knowledge of the group being observed. It allows a relationship of trust and a rapport to be developed, especially with groups where questioning would normally be ineffective. · Overt participant observations allow the researcher to ask naïve but important questions only an outsider could ask e.g. the researcher could ask a gang member, ‘why do you rob and steal?’. This allows them to be able to take notes openly. · Access – some groups may say no to having a researcher getting involved in their group – covert can overcome this.