SOCIOL 3O03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Naturalistic Observation, Natural Disaster, Freemasonry
8 Sep 2018
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Document Summary
Unobtrusive methods (um) are non-reactive" research methods e. g. any cultural product/medium: audiovisual records - videos, photographs, tv, film texts symbols, objects - mags, non/fiction, adverts e. g. naturalistic observation. Ums allow us to learn about a culture: by analyzing socio-cultural meanings & uses of these items. # ways of unobtrusively studying human activity: archival records letters, documents, diaries, home movies can focus on both meaning(s) & frequencies. Unobtrusive methods # of uses: allow gathering of politically or emotionally sensitive data do not require cooperation of inds do not require ethics approval or informed consent do not need to inform inds they are being observed. When in public, expectation one will be observed by others do not interact directly with others are easily accessible and inexpensive data is there & in plain view. May be used in conjunction with other methods provides richer understanding of the research topic.
