participant observation Flashcards
advantages:
flexibility
doesn’t have a fixed hypothesis or pre-set questions
enter a situation with an open mind
new situations arise, new explanations can be found
sociologist can change direction to follow up whatever may arise
advantages:
validity
provides rich qualitative data
provides a picture of how a group really live
advantages:
insight
verstehen - empathy / understanding that comes from putting yourself in another’s place
insight into a group’s values, problems, way of life, meanings, viewpoints
uniquely valid, authentic data
disadvantages:
practical
time consuming
train researcher to recognize sociologically significant information
personally stressful and demanding
observational and interpersonal skills
CAGE(S) may restrict groups to study
may not wish to be studied this way and so make access difficult
requires researcher to keep up an act and may call for detailed knowledge of the group’s way of life
patrick - almost found out when he bought his suit with cash instead of credit and fastened the middle button of his jacket rather than the top one
can’t openly take notes - when ditton studied bread theft smongst deliverymen, he had to use the toilets as a place for recording observations which eventually aroused suspicion
disadvantages:
ethical
covert - serious ethical problems such as deception
positivists believe that results are subjective, biased impressions of the observer
the researcher selects the facts they think are worth recording
researcher has pre-existing views and prejudices
hawthorne effect - affects validity
structural sociologists argue that it ignores the wider structural forces that shape our behaviour
disadvantages:
theoretical
small group to be studied - lacks representativeness
sample is selected haphazardly
unlikely to be replicable due to much relying on the researcher’s own persona characteristics
qualitative data - unlikely to be reliable
lacks objectivity - difficult to remain objective - present a one-sided view of the group
loyalty to the group or fear of reprisals may mean information is concealed
researcher may be biased in favour of the group’s viewpoint
gaining entry - making contact
making the initial contact with the group, may depend on personal skills or pure chance
polsky - found his skill of being a good pool player useful in gaining entry into the world of poolroom hustler
patrick - able to join a glasgow gang because he looked quite young and knew one of its members from having taught him in a young offenders institution
gaining entry - acceptance
to gain entry, the researcher will have to win trust and acceptance , such as by making friends
thornton - made friends with kate in her study of the clubbing and rave scene . sometimes age, gender or nationality may be a barrier - ‘slowly aged out of the peer group’
thornton met with suspicion
liebow - succeeded in gaining acceptance by balck street corner men in washington d.c
griffin - white man who used medication an sun lamp treatments to change his skin colour to pass as a black - travelled deep south of usa experiencing first hand impact of white racism
over involvement
if the researcher over identifies with the group, their research could become biased - when this happens, they have stopped being an objective observer and have simply become a member of the group
punch - found that in striving to be accepted by the tightly knit police patrol group in amsterdam, he was studying, he even acted as a policeman himself, chasing and holding suspects, searching houses and even shouting at people who abused his ‘colleagues’
getting out
practical issue
patrick - sickened by violence of glasgow gang and abandoned the study abruptly
overt observation
avoids ethical problem of obtaining information by deceit and being expected to join in with activities
allows observer to ask naive questions that only an outsider can ask -‘why do you rob and steal?’
can take notes openly
allows the researcher to use interview methods to check insights from derived observations
a group may refuse entry - police officers only let punc see what they wanted him to see
risks creating the hawthorne effect
covert observation:
practical advantages
reduces the risk of behaviour being altered and sometimes the only way to obtain valid information - particularly true when people are engaged in activities they would rather keep a secret
humphreys - studied gay men’s sexual encounters in public toilets notes there is only one way to observe secretive behaviour was to ‘pretend to be in the same boat with those engaging in it
