Non-participant observation

• Non-participant observation covert positive:

  • no Hawthorne effect, people do not change their behavior
  • Not putting yourself in danger, can be flexible to do
• Non-participant observation covert negative:

  • ethical issues - lack of consent
  • May lack validity as we may not understand what is going on
• Overt non-participant observation positive:

  • can be valid/accurate as you can check things
  • few ethical issues
• overt non-participant observation negative:

  • Hawthorne effect - change behavior
  • Problems with access as they need permission
• positives of non-participant:

  • less danger
  • Blendable
  • can make own judgements based on what they see
• Negatives of non-participant:

  • hawthorne effect if aware they are being watched (Overcome with covert - but this raises ethical issues)