Participant observation

Question 1

Definition

Answer 1

Method closely associated with interpretive sociology which involves joining in with a group whilst observing them – the aim is to achieve verstehen

Question 2

Fran Abrams - below the breadline

Answer 2

Used an observational study by taking on three different jobs for 4 week periods, 40 hours a week on minimum wage to understand the lives of those in poverty.
high in generalisability as she worked in London as a cleaner, Doncaster in a food and preserve factory and in Scotland as a carer in an old peoples home
High in validity as they didn’t know it was research so they were very open about life on minimum wage

Question 3

Skeggs - Formations of class and gender: becoming respectable

Answer 3

Skeggs used ethnographic research for the feminist view that all understandings are relative. She used a longitudinal study which lasted for 12 years (living in the community), 3 of which were participant observation with a sample of 83 white women from Lancashire to research their lives and how women create a sense of self, and the part social class and a search for respectability plays in female working class identity. To support her observations she used biographies of the women, information on the economy and interviews with the women and their parents/friends/teachers. 
Participant observation generates a rich source of highly-detailed, high-quality, information about people's behaviour.

Question 4

Ken Pryce

Answer 4

participant observation (case study) study of a single West Indian community in the St Paul’s area of Bristol attempted, at one level, simply to understand that particular community
High in validity as there is no reason to lie so there's a comprehensive understanding of the group under study