Observation

• Participant - the researcher takes part in the activities
• Non-participant - the researcher remains separate
• Covert - respondents are unaware of the researcher’s role or intentions
• Overt - the research purpose is known to the subjects
• Participation advantages - The researcher is able to study a group in a natural setting that they are in everyday and they are able to see the activities that normally happen. The researcher is able to see things from the perspective of the group which will allow them to develop a deeper understanding of the behaviour and activity of the group. The researcher will have direct observation of actions or events so it is less likely that they will misunderstand what is happening in the group. It can give the researcher detailed qualitative data that has a lot of validity. 
• Participation disadvantages - It may be difficult for the researcher to be able to get in the group and it may be difficult for the researcher to gain the group's trust. It may be difficult for the researcher to take notes when the events happen which means that they will have to rely on their memory to make notes after the activity or behaviour has happened. It is time consuming and expensive for the researcher to carry out, by the time the researcher is able to have finished the research and publish their findings some of the findings may be out of date.
• Participation disadvantages - The researcher being a part of the group may influence the group to behave in an unnatural way and not reveal what they would actually be doing to the researcher, this means that the data that they collect might not have full validity. The researcher might also become too involved with the group which can invalidate the researchers findings. It is a unique study which makes it very hard to replicate which means that another sociologist would find it too hard to check the reliability of the researchers work.
• Participation disadvantages - There are a lot of ethical issues because the respondents are not aware that they are being observed so the respondent has not given informed consent and they also don’t have the right to withdraw because they don’t know that it is happening.
• Non-participant advantages - Non-participant researchers are less likely to go native as they are unlikely to get drawn into the group. They might also be less likely to be influenced by their own personal feelings or opinions on the group and its members as well as the activities that the group do. I can have a lot of reliability. 
• Non-participant disadvantages - It is difficult for the researcher to see the world the way that the group sees it, which means that the researcher is less likely to understand things the way that members of the group do which could lead to them misinterpreting information. If the group members are aware that they are being observed they might change their behaviour.The researcher could oversimplify some of the group's actions which will provide little information for the researcher to use. It can easily alter the behaviour of the group which is known as the observer effect. 
• Covert advantages - The behaviour of the group will be the same as the group, nothing has changed as they don’t know that they are being watched, so you won’t get the hawthorne effect. 
• Covert disadvantages - The researcher will not be able to record their findings easily when the activity or behaviour happens as they will have to be careful that the group that they are researching doesn't see. There is also a danger that the researcher could go native as they may forget that they are there to do research and actually become a part of that group.
• Covert disadvantages - There are a lot of ethical issues because the respondents are not aware that they are being observed so the respondent has not given informed consent and they also don’t have the right to withdraw because they don’t know that it is happening. 
• Overt advantages -  It is easy for the researcher to record their data when they see it as they don’t have to hide that they are doing research on the group. 
• Overt disadvantages - The researcher is making their observations based on what they can see but that might not be reliable as they aren’t a part of the group so they aren’t seeing the world through their eyes.
• PET: Covert observations are unethical as the respondent is unaware that they are being researched which means that they haven’t given informed consent and also they then don’t have a right to withdraw. It will take time to watch the respondent enough to get enough research on them which uses a lot of time and money.