Topic 5 - Observation

• Types of observation

  • Participant observation (PO)
  • Non-participant observation
  • Overt observation
  • Covert observation
  • Structured observation
  • Unstructured observation
• Participant observation (PO)

  The researcher joins in the activities of the group they are researching, involving themselves in their daily life
• Non-participant observation

  The observer avoids any direct involvement with the research group, keeping a distance
• Overt observation

  The researcher explains their research intention to the group, so the research subjects know they are being observed
• Covert observation

  The researcher keeps their real identity and purpose secret from the research subjects. If participating, they usually pose as a genuine member of the group
• Structured observation

  The researcher systematically classifies the behaviour they observe into distinct categories
• Unstructured observation

  The observer simply records what they see and experience in whatever way they can
• Observation approaches used by different research perspectives

  • Interpretivists tend to use overt or covert PO, recording observations in an unstructured way
  • Positivists tend to use structured non-participant observation
• Participant observation (PO)

  • The observer finding a role within the group that allows them to study group behaviour
  • Observations are recorded in field notes
  • The research often involves years of fieldwork
  • Researchers start with an open mind and research ideas emerge during the study
  • It can be either covert or overt
• Why do interpretivists use PO?

  Interpretivists seek to discover the meanings that underlie our actions and this means using open-ended methods that produce valid, qualitative data. They find PO an effective way of uncovering people's meanings. Sustained participation in a group's activities allows the observer to gain a clear understanding of their worldview that can be constantly checked against their daily experience of the group. The researcher sees what people actually do, not what they may say they do.
• Positivists reject the use of PO because they argue it lacks reliability and representativeness
• Advantages of participant observation

  • Validity
  • Naturalistic approach
  • Authenticity
  • Open research process
  • Offers insight
  • Richly detailed data
• Other advantages of participant observation

  • Studying closed groups
  • Research opportunity
  • Flexibility
• Disadvantages of participant observation

  • Unreliable and unrepresentative
  • Problems with validity
  • Ethical issues
  • Practical problems
• PO lacks reliability and representativeness, but interpretivists are more interested in validity and they see PO as the technique that gets closest to this aim
• PO has a particular strength in that it is sometimes the only way to study certain groups and issues, such as deviant behaviour
• Structured observation

  Uses an observation schedule to identify and measure patterns of behaviour. The researcher decides in advance how to categorise the behaviour they will observe. The categories on the schedule are coded so that the data collected can be easily counted and turned into statistics.
• Why do positivists use structured observation?

  Positivists argue that there is a measurable, objective social reality 'out there'. They take a scientific approach using standardised methods of research to obtain quantitative data that allows them to produce generalisations and cause-and-effect statements. Positivists prefer to use structured observation because it uses fixed categories and so observations can be easily quantified.
• Advantages of structured observation

  • Reliability
  • Comparing data
• Structured observation has been used extensively in educational research because it is very suitable for measuring classroom interaction
• Disadvantages of structured observation

  • Loss of validity
  • Other problems
• Counting the frequency of events doesn't tell us about their meaning
• Events may not fit any of the categories, or may overlap several categories
• Different observers may place the same event into different categories
• The observer cannot always observe and record everything that is going on in an interaction
• Structured observation is only useful in studying small-scale interactions. It is also a very intensive method to carry out