Research Methods- Topic 6 (Paper1) Flashcards
(41 cards)
Non-participation observation.
The researcher simony observed the group or event without taking part in it. Eg. they may use a 2 way mirror to observe children playing.
Participation observation.
The researcher actually takes park in an event or the everyday life of the group while obsessed it.
Explain the difference between overt observation and covert observation.
Overt observation is where the researcher makes their true identity and purpose known whereas covert observation is a study carried out ‘under-cover’.
Why might a researcher choose to keep their real identity and purpose a secret from the group they’re observing?
They may get more valid data, reliable data.
Means they’ll get more accurate information.
For their own safety.
How did Ned Polsky (1971) make contact with the subjects of his study?
He was a good pool player himself, found his skill useful in gaining entry to the world of the podroom hustler.
How did James Patrick(1973) make contact with the subjects of his study?
He was able to join a Glasgow gang because he looked quite young and knew one of its members from having taught him in approved school.
How did Eileen Fairhurst (1977) make contact with the subjects of his study?
She found herself hospitalised by back trouble and use the opportunity to conduct a study on being a patient.
Why we the role that Whyte took a suitable one for his purposes?
Whyte succeeded in achieving both these aims by refusing all leadership roles, with the one exception of secretary of the community club, a position that allowed him to take ample notes under the guise of taking the minutes of meetings.
What key problem does the participant observer face once they have been accepted into a group?
Having to be both involved in the group so as to understand it fully, and yet at the same time detached from the group so as to remain objective and unbiased.
Write your definition of ‘going native.’
One danger of staying in the group is that of becoming over-involved or ‘goin native.’ By over-identifying with the group, the researcher becomes biased. When this happens, they have stopped being an ouectuce observer and have simply become a member of the group.
What evidence is there that Punch went native in his research.
He found that in striving to be accepted by the tightly-knit patrol group he was studying, he over-identified with them, even acting as a ‘policeman’ himself- chasing and holding suspects, searching houses, cars and people and shouting at people who abused his police ‘colleagues’
2 problems sociologists might face when leaving a participant observation.
Re-entering one’s normal world can be difficult. This problem can be made worse if the research is find on and off over a period of time, with multiple ‘crossings’ between the 2 worlds.
The researcher may find that loyalty prevents them from fully disclosing everything they have learnt, for fear that this might harm members of the group.
4 advantages of overt observation.
1) It avoided the ethical problem of obtaining information by decent and when when studying groups that of being expected to join the activities.
2) It allows the observer to ask the kind of naive but important questions that only an outsider could ask.
3) The observer can take bites quickly.
4) It allows the researcher to use interview methods to check insights derived from observations.
2 disadvantages of overt observation
1) A group may refuse the researcher permission to observe them, or may prevent them from seeing everything.
2) It risks creating the Hawthorpe effect where those who know they’re being observed begin to behave differently as a result. This undermines the validity of the data.
What is the main practical advantage of covert observation?
It reduces the risk of altering people’s behaviour and sometimes it’s the only way to obtain valid information.
4 practical disadvantages of covert observation.
1) It requires the researcher to keep up an act, and may call for detailed knowledge of the groups ways of life even before joining it.
2) Thr sociologist cannot usually take notes openly and must rely on memory and the opportunity to write them in secret.
3) The researcher cannot ask naive but important questions or combine observation with other methods like interviews.
4) The addition of a new memever (the researcher) can still change the group’s behaviour, thus reducing validity.
4 ethical issues affect covert observation.
1) It is immoral to deceive people, obtaining information by pretending to be their friend or ‘in the same boat.’
2) Covert observers may have to lie about their reasons for levering the group at the end of their research.
3) They may have to participate in immoral or illegal activities as part of their ‘cover’ role.
4) They may have a moral or legal duty to intervene or to report them to the police.
Explain why validity is an advantage of participation observation.
What people say they do when asked in a questionnaire and what they actually do aren’t always the same.
Supporters argue that this is the methods main strength.
Explain why insight is an advantage of participation observation.
This is the best way to understand what something is like to experience it for ourselves.
Why is participant observation a more flexible method than methods like questionnaires and structured interviews?
Rather than starting with a fixed hypothesis, it allows the sociologist to enter the situation with a relatively open mind about what they will find.
Why might participant observation be the only method of studying certain groups?
The open-mindedness allows the researcher to discover things that other methods may miss.
Why is covert participant observation more likely than overt to be stressful and demanding for the researcher?
The researcher will need to be trained, it requires observational and interpersonal skills that jot everyone possesses.
Suggest practical disadvantages that might affect the success of the observation.
Time consuming.
Researcher to be trained.
Interpersonal skills.
Personal characteristics.
Many groups may not want to be studied in this way.
Why might divert participant observation raise ethical issues.
Deceiving people inorder to obtain information about them and participating in illegal or immoral activities in the course of sociological research.
