Topic 6 - Participant observation Flashcards
(27 cards)
What is meant by participant observation ?
-Participant observation - the researcher actually takes part in an event or the everyday life of the group while observing it
What is meant by non participant observation ?
-non participant observation - the researcher simply observes the group or event without taking part in it
What is meant by an overt observation ?
-An overt observation is where the researcher makes their true identity and purpose known to those being studied , the sociologist is open about what they are doing
What is meant by a covert observation ?
-A covert observation is where the study is carried out “under cover” , the researchers identity and purpose are kept concealed from the group being studied
Whyte’s study which was semi - overt (partly open) - what was involved by this ?
-Whyte’s study of “street corner society” was semi - overt (partly open) , he revealed his real purpose to a key member of the group , Doc, but not to others
what are the 2 main issues that sociologists may face when conducting a participant observation ?
-getting in , staying in and getting out of the group being studied
-whether to use overt or covert observation
how did Patricks personal skills allow him to make contact with the Glasgow gang ?
-Patrick was able to join a Glasgow because he looked quite young and knew one of the gangs members from having taught him in a young offenders institution
one danger of staying in a group - what is meant by going native and why is this a problem ?
-one danger of staying in a group is that of going native (becoming over involved )
-by over identifying with the group , the researcher becomes biased
-when this happens they have stopped being an objective observer and have simply become a member of the group
what was Punch’s study on and how did this involve him going native ?
-For example , in Punch’s study of the police he found that in striving to be accepted by the tightly knit 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 abuse his police colleagues
why in practical terms is getting out of the group at the end of a study easier than getting in or staying in - use Patrick study as an example ?
-In practical terms , getting out of the group at the end of the study generally presents fewer problems than getting in or staying in
-if the worst comes to the worst , the researcher can simply call a halt and leave
-This was Patricks experience of studying Glasgow’s experience of studying a Glasgow Gang when , sickened by violence , he abandoned the study abruptly
what are some advantages of overt observation (where the researcher reveals their true identity and purpose ) ?
-It avoids the ethical problem of obtaining information by deceit and when studying deviant groups , that of being expected to join in their activities
-it allows the observer to ask naive but important questions . for example , the researcher could ask a gang member , why do you rob and steal
-the observer can take notes openly
-it allows the researcher to use interview methods to check insights derived from observations
what are the 2 major disadvantages of using overt observations ( where the researcher reveals their true identity and purpose ) ? how was one of these included in Punchs study
-a group may refuse the researcher permission , to observe them , or may prevent them from seeing everything - for example 2 of the police in Punch’s study later told him that “when you were with us , we only let you see what we wanted you to see”
-it risks creating the Hawthorne effect , where those who know they are being observed begin t behave differently as a result which undermines the validity of the data
What is the main practical advantage of covert observations ?
-the main practical advantage of covert observation is that it reduces the risk of altering people’s behaviour , and is sometimes the only way to obtain valid information
-this is particularly true where people are engaged in activities they would rather keep secret
practical advantage of covert observations - reduces the risk of people changing their behaviour - how did Humphreys study support this ?
-for example , Humphreys studied gay men’s sexual encounters in public toilets
-if they knew they were being observed , they would change or conceal their behaviour so the main advantage of covert observation is it preserves the naturalness of people’s behaviour
Practical problems of covert observations ?
-covert observations require the researcher to keep up an act , and may call for detailed knowledge of the group’s way of life even before joining it
-there is always risk of one’s cover being blown by a trivial mistake , e.g. Patrick was almost found out when he bought his suit with cash instead of credit and when he fastened his middle button of his jacket rather than the top one - things the gang would have never done
-the sociologist cannot take notes and must rely on their memory and the opportunity to write in secret e.g. Ditton studying theft among bread delivery men , had to use toilets as a place for recording their observations . In Ditton’s case , this eventually aroused suspicion
-the researcher cannot ask naive but important questions , or combine observation with other methods such as interviews
-although pretending to be an insider rather than an outsider reduces the risk of the Hawthorne effect , the addition of a new member (the researcher) can still change the groups behaviour , thus reducing the validity
Ethical issues of covert observations ?
-it’s immoral to deceive people , researchers should obtain informed consent of the subjects and reveal the purpose of the study , with covert observations this cannot normally be done ,at least until afterwards
-covert observers may have to lie about their reasons for leaving the group at the end of their research , others such as Patrick simply abandon the group without explanation , critics argue this is unethical
-they may have to participate in immoral or illegal activities as part of their “cover” role
-similarly as witnesses to such activities , they may have a moral or legal duty to intervene or to report them to the police
Advantages of participant observation - validity ?
-validity - by actually observing people we can obtain rich qualitative data that provides a picture of how someone really lives leading to more valid data
Advantages of participant observation - Insight ?
-Insight - the best way to truly understand what something is like is to experience it ourselves , sociologists call his personal or subjective understanding “verstehen” meaning empathy or understanding that comes from putting yourself in another person’s place
-Participant observation allows the researcher to gain empathy through personal experience , by actually living as a member of a group , we can gain insight into their way of life , meanings and viewpoints , their values and problems , we come to understand their world as they do which gives more reality to the data and therefore more valid
Advantages of participant observation - flexibility ?
-flexibility -participant observations are a much more flexible method compared to 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
-as new situations are encountered , new explanations can be formulated and the sociologist can change direction to follow them up there and then
-this open mindedness allows the researcher to discover things that other methods may miss
Disadvantages of participant observation - practical disadvantages ?
-participant observation study’s are very time consuming , for example Whyte’s study took him 4 years to complete
-the researcher needs to be trained so as to be able to recognise aspects of a situation that are sociologically significant and worth further attention
-it can be personally stressful and demanding , especially if covert
-it requires observational and interpersonal skills that not everyone possesses
-Personal characteristics such as age , gender or ethnicity may restrict what kinds of groups can be studied
-many groups may not wish to be studied in this way and some have the power to make access difficult
Disadvantages of participant observations - ethical problems involved in covert participant observation ?
-covert participant observation in particular raise serious ethical difficulties , including deceiving people in order to obtain information about them and participating in illegal or immoral activities in the course of sociological research
Disadvantages of participant observation - Representativeness ?
-in participant observation studies , the group studied is usually very small
-this doesn’t provide a sound basis for making generalisations
-what the sociologists find is unlikely to be generalisable to the wider population (Downes and Rock)
Disadvantages of participant observation - reliability ?
-reliability means that if another researcher repeats the method , they will obtain the same results
-to achieve reliability, research procedures must be standardised so that others can reproduce them
-for example , in participant observation so much depends on the personal skills and characteristics of a lone researcher that it is unlikely any other investigator would be able to replicate the original study
-also , because participant observation usually produces qualitative data , this can make comparisons with other studies difficult
-Positivists , who see sociology as scientific ,thus reject participant observation as an unsystematic method that cannot be replicated by other researchers
Disadvantages of participant observation - bias and lack of objectivity ?
critics argue that participant observation studies lack objectivity ;
-the risk of becoming too involved and “going native” makes it difficult to remain objective and the sociologist may end up presenting a one sided or a biased view of the group
-sometimes , loyalty to the group or fear of reprisals leads the sociologist to conceal sensitive information , this denies those who read the published study a full and objective account of the research
-Participant observation often attracts sociologists whose sympathies lies with the underdogs . for example , Willis was accused of presenting a romanticised account of the lads
