SOC221H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Content Analysis, Participant Observation, Ethnography
November 23, 2016
Field Research
• Roots in anthropology, ethnography
• Immerse yourself in a culture
o You have to immerse yourself in a culture to really understand it such as the
activities, traditions, etc
o You have a chance to meet new people and hear their incite so that you don’t
just have your opinions, you have the incite of those who are apart of the culture
• Some terms you hear:
o partiipant oseration
▪ a kind of method
o ethnography
▪ a kind of method but involves multiple methods
▪ it may be field research, interviews, or content analysis
Ethnography Example
• Ethnography: a methodology involving multiple methods, one of which is field research
• Ex. Elite, single-gender private schools in Toronto (Boy high and Girl High)
o Why did I study these sites as an ethnographer would study a culture?
• May include:
o Field research
o Qualitative interviews
o Qualitative content analysis
o Historical records
• There is an involvement chart from detachment to involvement
o Complete observation is like looking in from behind the glass and completely
detached from the field research
o The middle such as participant-as-observer and observer-as-participant, is like
they are involved, but they do not do all of the tasks.
▪ This is the most common type
o Complete participation (involved) is when the person does everything to be
involved in the group
▪ Ex. A researcher studying gangs must be completely involved because
they need to get into the culture in order to completely study it
• When deciding ethnographic research, a researcher must decide whether to be overt or
covert
o Covert: when you hid the fact that you are studying the group
▪ Ex. It is best to take on a covert role when there is criminal activity
involved
o Overt: when the group is completely aware that you are studying and observing
them
▪ Ex. Bakers study of boy and girl schools where the schools knew she was
studying students
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Document Summary
Ethnography example: ethnography: a methodology involving multiple methods, one of which is field research, ex. It is best to take on a covert role when there is criminal activity involved: overt: when the group is completely aware that you are studying and observing them, ex. Bakers study of boy and girl schools where the schools knew she was studying students. Randy contreras: gangs: federal certificate of confidentiality is a certificate that gives researchers confidentiality and prevents research notes from being sephena"d. When studying a boxer, you don"t ha(cid:448)e to get in the ring to (cid:271)e a complete participant, you can train a boxer and be a complete participant. Kinds of questions: there is a lot of studied areas. Closed is the opposite: when looking at closed settings, you have to think about who can give you connections that will lead to access into the field, ex. Closed is like studying gangs: 3. adopting a role, participant-observer, self-presentation.
