Observations

• Participant observations

  Where the researcher observes the behaviour whilst being a part of the group observed, data collected whilst in the group or situation e.g. joining a cult or football hooligans
• Evaluation of participants observations

  Strengths:

  • the researcher gains in-depth understanding of the groups behaviour as they are part of the group, don't miss important aspects
  • allows access to not only behaviours but also attitudes, opinions and feelings
  • enables access to groups that otherwise would not allow a outsider observer
• Evaluation of participants observations

  Weaknesses:

  • the researcher becomes a part of the group and so there's a greater chance of the researcher bias in research findings which lowers the internal validity
  • the researcher may become overwhelmed with the amount of data that they have, and so may have difficulty recording it all
• Non participant observations


  Where the researcher is separate from the group whilst they are observing the behaviour, they do not interfere with the group, data is collected from a distance e.g. camera
• Evaluation of non-participants observations

  Strengths:

  • the researcher is not a part of the group and so can be more objective, this reduces chances of researcher bias, therefore increasing internal validity
  • as the observer is separate they are able to manage the data and recording more easily
• Evaluation of non-participants observations

  Weaknesses:

  • by not being in the group they are observing they may miss parts of the behaviour
• Other ways of doing observations

  Overt: the participants are aware their behaviour is being observed, they are aware of the purpose and the researcher is visible to them

  Covert: this is conducted without the knowledge or awareness of the participants, done through hidden observers, secret cameras and 2 way mirrors
• Two ways of sampling behaviour

  Event: counting the number of times a behaviour occurs in a target individual or group across a whole event

  Time: counting behaviour in a set frame e.g. counting the times the behaviour occurs every 2 minutes