What’s overt participant observation?
Where the observer reveals their identity
What’s covert participant observation?
The identity of the observer is hidden. Its used to study the way of life of the group. Aims to see the world from their perspective and is usually conducted by a long period of time. Its used by interpretivists.
What did Natalie Jolly do?
She studied the Amish community by acting as a gatekeeper by acting as a non Amish midwife.
What did Simon Winlow do?
He studied how societal changes have effected masculinity and the role of violence/crime in working class culture. He did this through observing working class people as his work as a bouncer. He found that working class people were more likely to display that type of behavior.
What are 5 advantages of participant observation?
- P- Build rapport and gain trust. 2. P- No training needed. 3. T-Retains objectivity as no emotions are involved. 5. T- Flexibility as there are no fixed hypothesis. 6 T- They can observe body language so there is high validity.
What are 6 disadvantages of participant observation?
- P- Its time consuming 2.P- Requires interpersonal skills which not everyone has. 3 E- It deceives the people involved. 4. T- Lack of repressentaviness as the groups studies are generally smaller. 5. There’s low reliability 6. T- Interviewer effect, behaviour may change and be too involved.
What are 7 advantages of non participant observation?
- P- The researcher does not need to put an act on. 2 P- The researcher can take notes openly. 3 P- The researcher wont be involved in any illegal activities. 4 T- Valuable to study micro interactions. 5. T- Remains unbiased less likely to be drawn into the group and have less influence on the group. 6. T- Can analyse social interactions in many contexts. 7. T- No risk of Hawthorne effect.
What are 8 disadvantages of non participant observation?
- P- Cost as you may need to pay those participating or you may need to travel long distances. 2. P- Risk of hawthorn effect as those who know that they are being observed may behave differently. 3. P- Cost as you may need to travel to access a group or live there to keep your cover. 4. P- Time consuming. 5 E- May have a moral duty to report crime etc. 6. T- Can limit the researchers understanding being outside the group. 7. T- Not representative as samples are usually small and selected randomly. 8. T- Lack of reliability as its not standardized.
Can non participant observation be structured?
Yes sometimes which positivist like.
