Observations

• Participant observation


  The researcher actually takes part in an event or the everyday life of the group while observing it
• Non-participant observation


  The researcher simply observes the group or event without taking part in it
• Overt observation


  The researcher makes their true identity and purpose known to those being studied
• Covert observation


  The study is carried out under cover, the researchers real identity and purpose are kept concealed from the group being studied
• Actual research does not always fit neatly into one or other of these categories
• Sociologists most often use unstructured participant observation
• Positivist sociologists occasionally use structured observation, which is normally non-participant
• Structured observational schedule


  A pre-determined list of the types of behaviour or situations the sociologist is interested in
• Observation may be used in conjunction with other methods, such as observing interviewees' body language
• Gaining entry to a group to conduct participant observation

  Depends on personal skills, having the right connections, or even pure chance
• Gaining acceptance from the group is important to conduct participant observation
• The researcher's age, gender, class or ethnicity may prove an obstacle to gaining acceptance
• The researcher needs to adopt a role that does not disrupt the group's norms and offers a good vantage point for observations
• The researcher faces the problem of being both fully involved in the group to understand it, and detached to remain objective
• The danger of 'going native' and over-identifying with the group is that the researcher becomes biased
• Leaving the group at the end of the study can also be difficult, as the researcher may have become closely attached
• Overt observation


  The researcher reveals their true identity and purpose to the group and asks for permission to observe
• Advantages of overt observation

  • Avoids the ethical problem of obtaining information by deceit
  • Allows the observer to ask naive but important questions
  • Allows the observer to take notes openly
  • Allows the use of interview methods to check insights
• Disadvantages of overt observation

  • The group may refuse permission or prevent the researcher from seeing anything
  • It can create the Hawthorne Effect, where people behave differently when they know they are being observed
• Covert observation


  The researcher's true identity and purpose are kept concealed from the group being studied
• Advantages of covert observation

  • Reduces the risk of altering people's behaviour
  • May be the only way to obtain sensitive information
• Practical issues with covert observation


  • Requires the researcher to keep up an act and have detailed knowledge of the group
  • Risk of cover being blown
  • Cannot take notes openly or combine with other methods like interviews
• Ethical issues with covert observation


  • It is immoral to deceive people and obtain information by pretending to be their friend
  • Researchers should obtain informed consent and reveal the purpose of the study
• Covert participant observation raises serious ethical (moral) issues for researchers. These often conflict with the practical advantage it brings of observing natural behaviour
• It is immoral to deceive people, obtaining information by pretending to be their friend or in the group
• Researchers should obtain the informed consent of subjects, and reveal the purpose of the study and the uses to which the findings will be put. With covert observation, this cannot normally be done, at least until the research is completed
• Covert observers may have to lie about their identity, and may simply abandon the group without explanation at the end of their research
• Covert observers may have to participate in immoral or illegal activities as part of their cover role
• As witnesses to such activities, they may have a moral or legal duty to intervene or to report them to the police
• Validity of participant observation


  • What people say they do when asked in a questionnaire, and what they actually do in real life, are not always the same thing. Participant observation can obtain rich qualitative data that provides a picture of how people really live
• Verstehen


  Personal or subjective understanding, empathy or understanding that comes from putting yourself in another person's place
• Flexibility of participant observation

  • Allows the researcher to enter the situation with a relatively open mind, and to change direction to follow up new explanations as they are encountered. Theories are grounded in real experience
• Practical advantages of participant observation

  • Can be the only viable method for studying certain groups, particularly those that are disreputable and suspicious of outsiders. Enables the sociologist to build rapport and gain trust
• Participant observation is time-consuming, requires training, and can be personally stressful and demanding
• Personal characteristics of the researcher, such as age, gender or ethnicity, may limit the kinds of groups that can be studied
• Some groups may not wish to be studied and can make access difficult, so participant observation often focuses on widely powerless groups who are less able to resist being studied
• Covert participant observation is more likely than overt to be stressful and demanding for the researcher, due to the need to maintain their cover identity
• Participant observation studies usually have very small, haphazardly selected samples, which provides a poor basis for making generalizations to the wider population
• Participant observation is unlikely to produce reliable data, as so much depends on the personal skills and characteristics of the lone researcher, making replication by other researchers difficult
• Participant observation studies may lack objectivity, as the researcher's own categories and ideas may be imposed on the data, and their sympathies may lead to a biased presentation of the group's viewpoint