Research methods- participant observation

What 2 issues do sociologists face when conducting a patricipant observation study?

• Getting in, staying in and getting out of the group being studied.
• Wether to use overt or covert observation.

What is needed to make intial contact with a group of interest? Give an example:

Making initial contact depends on personal skills, having the right connections or even pure chance. Polsky for example  who was a good pool player, found his skills useful when gaining access t othe world of the poolroom hustler. 

What is needed to gain entry into a group?

To gain entry the researcher will have to win the groups trust and acceptance, it may help to make friends with a key individual as Thorton did with Kate in her study of the clubbing and rave scene. 

Why can gaining entry to a group of interest be difficult? Use Thorton as an example:

The researchers age, gender, calss or ethncitiy can prove an obsticle. For example Thorton found her age and nationality a barrier, she was 23 so out aged her peer group, she was also Canadian so was literally a stranger in a strange land. 

What role should the observer adopt?

• One which does not disrupt the groups normal  patterns.
• One which offers a good vantage point to make observations. 

Why is it difficult to take a role which is unobtrusive and has a good vantage point?

Because some roles may involve taking sides in conflicts, with the result that the researcher may become estranged from one fraction or the other making observation more difficult.

What is the danger of staying in the group of interest?

• Becoming over involved or going native. By over identifying themselves with the group the researcher becomes baised, when this happens they stop being an objective oberver, and hav instead become a member of the group.
• A futher problem with staying in is the more time the researcher spends with the gorup the less strange its ways appear. After a while the researcher may cease to notice things that would have struck them as unusual ot notworthy at an earlier stage in the research.

What are the problems with getting out of the group of interest once the research is complete?

For the researcher leaving a group they have become close to can be difficult. Re-entering their normal world can also be diffcult for example whyte found when he returned to uni  he was tongue tied and unable to communicate with his fellow academics. These problems can be made worse i the research is conducted on and off over a period of time, with crossings between the two worlds. Loyalty to the group may also prevent the researcher from fully disclosing everything they learnt, for the fear that it may harm members of the group.  

What are the advantages of overt observation?

• It avoids the ethical and moral problem of obtaining information by deceit and when studying deviant groups being expected to join their activities.
• It allows the observer to ask the kiind of niave questions that only and outsider would ask.
• The observer is able to take notes openly.
• It allows the research to use interview methods to  chheck insights derived from observations.

What are the 2 disadvantages of overt observation?

• A group may refuuse the researcher periissionto observe them, or prevent them from seeing everything. 
• It risks creating the hawthorne effect.

What is the main practical advanttage of covert observation?

• It reduces the risk of alteing peoples behabiour, and is sometimes the only way to get valid information. This is praticulary true when individuals are engaging in behavour theyy wish to keep a secret, such as Humphreys study of gay mens sexual encounters in public toliets.

What practical problems to covert observation pose?

• It requires the researcher to keep up an act and may call for a detialed knowledege of the groups way of life before joining it.
• Risk of the researchers cover being blown 
• The sociologist is unable to take notes openly so therefore must rely on memory and the opportunity to write them in secret. 
• The researcher cannot ask niave but important questions, or combine observation with other methods such as interview.
• The addition of a new member (the researcher) to a group can still change the groups behaviour. 

What are the ethical issues with covert observation?

• It is immoral to decieve people- for example a researcher obtaining informatiob by pretending to be the groups friend. The researcher is unable to gain informed consent, reveal the purpose of the study and the use of its findings.
• Covert observers may lie about the reasons for leaving the group at the end of their research, this is seen as unethical.
• The researcher may have to participate in immoral or illegal activities.
• The researcher may be a witness to illegal activities, then they have the moral or legal duty to intervene and report it ot the policie.  

What makes participant observation valid?

• By actually observing people, the researcher is able to obtain rich qualitative data, that provides a picture about how the group of interest really lives. This makes participant observation valid. 
• Participant observationa also allows the researcher to gain empathy through personal experience. By living as part of the group, they gain insight into the group of interests way of lifem ther meanings, view points, values and problems. This closeness to the group of itnerests live reality means participant observation can give uniquely valid and authentic data. 
• Participant observation is a flexible research method, as researchers encounter new situations, new expalnations cna be fromulated and the sociologist can chhanged direction to follow them up then and there. 

What are the practical advantages of participant observation?

• It is sometimes the onlt viable method, especially when studying groups engages in deviant activities. As ir enables the sociologist to build a rapport with the group and gain its trust, it is proved a sucessful method of study deliquent subcultures. 
• It can be used in situations where questioning would be ineffective. 

What are the practical disadvantages of participant observation?

• Very time consuming.
• The researcher needs to be trained, so they are able to recognise aspects of the situation which are sociologically significant and requuire further attention.
• It can be personally stressful and demanding.
• It requires observational and interpersonal skills.
• Personal chracteristics such as age, gender and ethnicity may restrict the kinds of groups that can be studied.
• Many groups will not want to bee studied uusing participant observation, and may make it difficult for the researcher to gain access. 

What are the ethical issues with participant observation?

Covert participant observation raises ethical issues such as decieving people and the researcher participating in illegal or immoral activities as part of the research.

Is participant observation seen as a representative research method?

In participant oobservation the grou studied is usually very small and the sample if often by chance. This does not provide a sound basis for making generalisations, therefoore they are not representative.

Is participant observation seen as a reliable research method?

PO depends so much on the personal skills and characteristics of a lone researcher that it is unlikely another researcher would be able to replicate the orginal study. PO also produces qualitative data which makes comparisons difficult. As a result PO is unlikely to produce reliable data.

Why do participant observation studies lack objectivity?

• The risk of becoming too involved or going native makes it difficult for sociologists to remain objective.
• Loyalty to the group of interest can lead the sociologist to conceal sensitive information. 
• Participant observattion often attracts sociologists whose sympathies lie with the underdog. 

Why do positivists argue that participant observation lacks validity?

They argue the findings from participant observations are merely the biased subjective impressions of the observer. Rather than telling it how it truly is, participantt observation simply tells it how the observer sees it. The research selects which facts they think are worth recording, these are likekly to fit in with the reserachers pre exisiting views and prejudices. 

Which type of sociologist prefers structured observational methods and why?

Positivists, because they enable them to identify and make quantitative measurements of behaviour patterns.

What are the practical advantages of structured observational methods in schools?

• Observations can be easily converted into quantative data by counting the number of times each type of behvaiour occurs. This relative simplicity of structured observational methods, means they are quicker, cheaer and require less training. 

Are structured observational methods seen as reliable?

They are likely to be easily replicated as tecniques like the flanders system of interaction analysis catergories only used 10 classroom interactions, so are easy for other reseachers to apply in a standardised way. 

Are structured observations in an educational setting valid?

Interpretivist sociologist criticse structured observation of classroom iintercation for its lack of validity, counting classroom behaviour and classifying it into a limited number of predefinrf catergories ignores the meanings pupils and teachers attach to it.  

Which type of sociologist prefers unstructured observation?

Interpretivists favour the use of more flexible qualatative observational methods, as it allows them to gain access to meaniings pupils and teachers give to situations. 

What are the practical issues with using unstrcuture observation in an educational  setting?

• Schools are complex places, meaning it is more time consuming to observe than many other settings. 
• Personal chracterstics of the sociologist such as age, gender and ethnicity may affect the observation process. For example, a black sociologist in an all white school. 
• Observation of interactions in school settings is limited by the restrictions of the school timetable, holidays, access and health and safety.
• Schools are busy and public places, therefore meaning the researcher may find it difficult to find a private place to observe. 

What are the practical advantages of unstructured observations in educational settings?

It may be easier to gain permission to observe lessons than to interview pupils and teachers..

What are the ethical issues of observations of children in educational settings?

• Covert observation of children is not appropriate, their greater vulnerability and inability to give informed consent means observation usually has to be overt. 
• Observers in school see and hear things which could get pupils into trouble. This guilty knowledge is an ethical issue, as the researcher is obliged to report the wrongdoing.
• Psycholgical harm could occur in pupils, meaning extra care should be taken. 

How are observations in educational settings valid?

For interpretivisits observations give us an authentic understanding of the world-views of social actors. This is importnat when reseaching issues such as classroom interaction and labelling in schools. 

How are observations in educational settings not valid?

• The power difference between young people and adults is a barrier to uncovering the real attitudes and behaviour of pupils. Children may present a false image when being obsserved by an adult researcher, therefore undermining the validity of the research.
• Teachers may be skilled in disgusing their feelings and altering their behaviour when being observed.
• The language of the pupil may be different to that of the researcher, this makes it difficult for researchers to be certian they understand pupils meanings.

How does observation in educational settings cause the hawthorne effect?

If a researcher is observing classroom interaction, the prescene of the researcer may cause the hawthorne effect- when the pupils and teachers change their behvaiout as they know they are being observed. 

Are observstions in educational settings representative?

Observational studies usually only focus on a small number of pupils from a single school, the small scale of such studies results from the fact that it takes time to become familiar with the setting, gain the trust of teachers and pupils and carry out the observation. This means observations are not representative.

Are observations in educational settings reliable?

• They lack reliability, this is because data recording is often unsystematicc and hard to replicate. 
• The personal characteristics of different observers evoke differing responses.