Research Methods Snippets: Participant Observation

Introduction:

• A primary research method in which the sociologist studies a group by taking a role within it and participating in its activities.
• May be overt, or covert.
• Produces qualitative data and are preferred by interpretivists as it achieves their main goal of validity. 

Practicality:

• COVERT: requires the researcher to keep up an act, detailed knowledge of the groups way of life, Cover could be ‘blown’ by trivial mistakes.
• OVERT: access to certain groups may be difficult. 
• BOTH: training required so that researchers can recognise aspects of a situation that are sociologically significant. Personal characteristics e.g. age, gender or ethnicity may restrict what kinds of groups a researcher can study.

Ethics:

• COVERT: obtaining information via deception; lying about reasons for leaving the group at the end of the research; participating in immoral or illegal activities. 
• OVERT: Researcher reveals their identity and purpose to the group and askes their permission to observe. This avoids the issue of obtaining information by deceit.

Reliability:

• Participant observation depends so much on the personal skills and characteristics of a lone researcher, it is unlikely any other investigator would be able to replicate the original study.
• Qualitiative data makes comparisons with other studies are usually very difficult; there is very little reliability.

Validity:

• COVERT: reduces the risk of altering people’s behaviour – it may be the only way of obtaining valid information.
• Researcher ‘going native’, over-identifying with the group, the researcher becomes biased.
• OVERT: risks creating the Hawthorne Effect; those aware they are being observed may act differently, undermining the validity of the data.
• BOTH: participant observation studies may lack objectivity. It often attracts sociologists whose sympathies lie with the underdog. 

Enough?/Representative:

• Participant observation often studies very small groups, the samples are usually selected haphazardly. This does not provide a sound basis for making generalisations to the wider population.