observations

observations

1. types

   • non participant
     • the researcher simply observes the group or event without taking part in it. e.g. they may use a two-way mirror to observe children playing
   • participant
     • the researcher takes part in the event or the life of the group they are observing
   • overt
     • the researcher takes their true identity sn purpose is known to those being studied. the researcher is open about what they are doing
   • covert
     • the study is carried out under cover. the identity and purpose are kept a secret and the researcher takes on a false identity or role, usually posing as a genuine member of the group.
   • however, not all observations fit into these types
     • Whyte
       • study of street corner society was semi-overt as he revealed his identity to one member of the group
   • most observations are unstructured participant observations. positivists prefer participant structured observation
     • structured observation is a schedule to categorise systematically what happens
   • the schedule is a pre-determined list of the types of behaviour or situations the sociologist is interested in. each instance a type of behaviour occurs the sociologist records it on the schedule . then the numbers are added up which prouces quantitative data where patterns and correlations can be made.
   • observation may be used in conjunction with other methods. e.g. when interviewing the researcher may observe interviewee's body language to gauge whether or not they are telling the truth

2. conducting participant observation

   • two main issues:
     • getting in, staying in a getting out
     • wthether to use over or covert
   • getting in
     • need to gain entry- some groups are easier to enter than others e.g. joining a football crowd is easier than joining a criminal gang
     • making contact
       • making initial contact mat deend on personal skills, having the right connections, or having pure chance.
         • polsky
           • was a good pool player and found it useful when gaining entry to the world of the pool room hustler
         • patrick
           • as able to join the glasgow gang because he looked quite young and already knew one of the members.
         • fairhurts
           • found herself hospitalised and used the opp to conduct a study on being a patient
     • acceptance
       • the researcher has to gain trust and acceptance . it will help to make friends with a key individual
         • Thornton
           • made friends with kate in her study of the clubbing and rave scene. as she was 23 when she started to study the group she aged out of the people she was studying. also because she was canadian she was seen as a stranger
           • she was treated with suspicion at first
         • however, class, ethnicity, gender and age can be barriers
           • liebow
             • showed barriers can be overcome because he gained access to a black street corner gang in Washington although he was white
           • griffin
             • went to great kengths to be accepted as he used medication and sunlamp treatment to change his skin colour to pass as black. he then travelled to the deep south the experience white racism. at this time there was a lot of segregation and discrimination
     • the observers role
       • this brings into question what the observers role should be. ideally is should
         • not disrupt the group
         • offer a good vantage point to observe
       • whyte
         • succeeded both of these aims as he refused leadership roles but became a secretary at a community club. the position allowed him to take notes under the guise of taking minutes
       • however, it is not always possible to gain a nonintrusve role with a good vantage point. some roles may onclude taking sides in conflicts- become estranged from the other side of the group- hard to pbserve
   • staying in
     • the researcher needs to stay in the group to complete the study. this creates a problem for the participant observer because they have to be part of the group to fully undertsand but also be detatched so they can be objective
     • going native
       • one problem can be becoming too involved. this could mean te interviewer becomes bias - this means they have stopped being an objective observer and have become a member of the group.
       • punch
         • in his study of the Amsterdam police he foun that in striving to become accepted he overidentified with them, even acting as a policeman himself.
       • the other extreme is that the observer is too detatched and may risk not understanding the events. finding a balance can be difficult
       • Downes and Rock
         • participant observation is an intricate feat
       • the more time the interviewer spend with the group, the less strange its ways come to appear. the researcher may not notice things that would earlier have struck them as being unusual or noteworthy- the observer becomes less observant
         • whyte
           • ended up being a non-observing participator
   • getting out
     • if the worst comes to the worst the interviewer can call a holt and leave
       • patrick
         • he did this when he was sickened by the violence
     • others can leave more gracefully, especially if the study is overt.
       • leaving a group who you became close with can be hard
     • re-entering the normal world can be difficult
       • whyte felt tongue tied and unable to communicate with other academics when returning to harvard university
         • this van be made worse if the research is conducted on and off over a period of time as the researcher is crossing between the two worlds
     • the researcher may find that loyalty prevents them from fully disclosing everything they have learnt, for fear that it might harm members of the group.
       • in the case of criminal groups, exposure of their activities may lead to perosecution, or reprisals against the author. this will reduce validity
   • overt observation
     • some sociologists prefer studies where they reveal their identity and purpose and ask permission to observe.
     • advantages
       • it avoids ethical problems such as decieving
       • it allows the observer to ask the kind of naive but important questions that only an outsider would ask.
       • observer can take notes freely
       • it allows the researcher to use interview methods to check insights derived from observation
     • disadvantages
       • a group may refuse the researcher permission
         • punch
           • after his study two of the police officers told his they only let him see what they wanted him to see
       • the risk of creating the hawthorne effect
   • covert observation
     • practical issues
       • it reduces the risk of altering peoples behaviour. it is sometimes the only way to gain valid data, especially when wanting to look at things people would generally keep a secret
         • humphery
           • studied gay men's sexual encounters in public toilets. he said the only way to watch discreditable behaviour is to pretend to be in the same boat with those engaging
       • if they knew they were being observed they would conceal their behaviour
       • the researcher has to keep the act up and there is a risk that their cover may be blown.
         • patrick
           • risked blowing his cover when he bought his suit with cash rather than a credit card and fastened the middle button of his jacket rather than the top one.
       • polsky
         • said that you better not pretend to be one of them because they will test the claim and you will either find yourself part taking in illegal activity, or your cover will be blown.
           • patrick
             • found this when the group handed him an axe to use on a fight
       • the sociologist cannot usually take notes properly and must rely on memory and opportunity .
         • festinger
           • studying a religious sect that had predicted the imminent end of the world
         • ditton
           • studying th etheft among bread delivery men, had to use toilets as a place for recording their observations. this eventually aroused suspicion
     • ethical issues
       • deception - informed consent
       • may have to lie about reasons for leaving the group.
         • patrick
           • left the group without explanation which critics say was unethical
       • may hav to take part in illegal activities
       • as witnesses they may have a moral and legal duty to intervene and report them to the police

3. advantages of PO

   • validity
     • by actually observing people we can obtain rich qualitative data tha provides a true picture of how they live.
   • insight
     • the way to understand something is to experience it.
       • sociologists call this verstehen where we can feel empathy and understand what comes from putting yourself in someone elses shoes
     • this allows the observer to gain empathy through personal experinece. this also allows is to see their 'life world' and how they understand it.- validity
       • punch's study of the Amsterdam police as he became like them and stuck up for them
   • flexibility
     • PO is flecible because it allows the sociologist to enter a situation with an open mind. as new situations are encouraged, new explanations can be formulated and the sociologist can change the direction to follow them up then and there. any theories that the researcher makes are grounded in real life
     • this open mindedness allows the researcher to to dsicover things other methods might miss.
       • whyte
         • 'i learned answers to questions i would not have the sense to ask if i ad been using interviews
       • polsky
         • 'initially keep your eyes and ears open and your mouth shut
   • practical advantages
     • sometimes PO can be the only viable option if the group takes part in illegal activity. some groups are likely to be suspicious
       • Yablonsky
         • a teenage gang is likely to see researchers who come armed with questionnaires as the unwelcome representative of authority
     • due to the ability for the researcher to build a rapport is has been successful in researching delinquent gangs, football hooligans and sects- outsider groups
     • it can also be used when questionning may be ineffective
       • ciciourel
         • study of how police officers categorise juveniles by making unconscious assumptions of criminal types. it would have been pointless to ask them Qs about it die to denial, so, he observed their work

4. disadvantages

   • practical
     • time consuming
       • whyte
         • 4 years
     • researcher needs to be trained
     • stressful and demanding
     • observational and inter-personal skills
     • personal characteristics may restrict the kinds of groups you can study
     • many groups may not wish to be studied in this way- access difficult. this is wy PO focuses on powerless groups who are less able to resist
   • ethical
     • deceit in order to obtain info
   • representativeness
     • the group studied is usually small and often selected haphazardly e.g. by chance encounter. this does not make a great basis for making generalisations
       • Downes and Rock
         • although PO may provide valid insight it is doubtful that the 'internal insights' and externally valid- generalisable to the rest of the PoP
   • reliability
     • in PO so much depends on the personal skills of the researcher and that means it is unlikely to be replicable.
       • whyte
         • noted his method was unique
     • because PO produced qualitative data it can make it hard to make comparisons- unreliable
     • positivists would reject the unsystematic method
   • bias and lack of objectivity
     • the risk of going native makes it difficult to remain objective and not provide a biased view
     • loyalty to the group and fear of reprisal can lead to the concealing of inf. this denies full objective research
     • PO often attracts sociologists whose sympathies lie with the underdog. this can lead to them favouring them and want to present them in a positive light
       • willis
         • criticised for romanticising the 'lads' behaviour
   • validity
     • positivists would argue that the findings from PO studies are merely the subjective biased impressions of the observer. rather than telling it like it is the observer is telling it how they see it.
     • positivists say that the observer picks the facts that they think are worth recording, and are likely to fit in with the research's pre-existing prejudices.
     • there is also risk of the hawthorne effect. the defeats the aim of achieveing a 'naturalistic' account of human behaviour
   • lack of a concept of structure
     • interactionists favour PO because they see society as constructed through small scale face to face intercations of its members amd the meanings they give to situations. they see PO as a useful tool for examining these micro level interactions and meanings first hand
     • marxists and functionalists would see this as inadequate because the micro approach ignores wider structural forces that influence behaviour. e.g. class and norms and values
     • in the structuralist view seeing things only through actors eyes will never give us a complete picture e.g if the actors are unaware of the forces shaping their behaviour, then their own accounts of their lives will give us only a partial view