SOCA01H3 Lecture Notes - Participant Observation, Dependent And Independent Variables, Grounded Theory
Document Summary
Field research: research based on the observation of people in their natural settings. Detached observation: involves classifying and counting the behaviour of interest according a predetermined scheme. Problems with direct observation: hawthorne effect(reactivity): when the presence of the researcher affects the behaviour of the people being observed, meaning of what is being observed might remain obscure to the researcher. Ethnographic research: describes the entire way of life of people. Going native: when the research abandons his research role and becomes a member of the group he is studying. Participant observation: when the researcher attempts to observe a social situation objectively and take part in the activities of the people he is studying. Opting for pure observation or pure participation compromises the researcher"s ability to see the world sociologically. Instead participant observation requires the researcher to keep walking a tightrope between the two extremes of subjectivity and objectivity.
