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| Question | Answer |
| Types of observation; non-P, P, covert, overt a structured observational schedule may be used Eg how often a girl uses a certain toy A P observation 1 Getting in; Making contact whihc may depend on personal skills having connections or chance Eg Fairhurst was hospitalised +conducted a study on being a patient Acceptance-making friends though age, gender, race etc may be a barrier but some have overcome these Eg Griffin painted himself black Observer's role should be one that doesn't disrupt the group's patterns+ offer a good vantage point | 2 Staying in; Going native, over-identifying=biased but by being detached they risk not understanding= balance needed also the longer a researcher spends with the group the less strange the ways appear-not noteworthy 3 Getting out which presents fewer problems, some can just leave Eg Patrick abruptly abandoned the study as he was sickened by the violence Re-entering the normal world can be difficult Loyalty may also prevent them from disclosing everything |
| Overt observation avoids ethical problems Eg deceit It allows naive q's to be asked The observer can take notes/use interviews However the group may refuse permission/prevent them from seeing everything It risks creating the hawthorne effect | Covert observation; Advans; reduces risk of altering behaviour especially with secret activities Eg Humphreys studied gay men's sexual experiences in public toilets Disadvans; have to keep up the act, their cover may be blown and this may lead to physical harm, cannot take notes openly, can't ask naive q's, a new member may disrupt normal activity, deceit, no consent, they may have to participate in imoral/ilegal activities |
| Advans of P observation; rich+detailed =valid data, gives researcher insight+ empathy, very flexible, a researcher can produce a grounded hypothesis, this open mindedness allows the researcher to discover things other methods may miss, this may be the only method for studying certain groups+ it enables the researcher to build rapport | Disadvans; 1 It's time consuming, researcher needs to be trained, can be stressful, requires observational+ interpersonal skills+many groups have the power to make access difficult 2 deception+ilegal/imoral activities 3 small sample, selected haphazardly=unrepres 4 Can't be replicated+as it is qualitative=hard to compare=unreliable 5 Can lack objectivity-going native, loyalty, sympathy 6 They can be biased as it is reported how the observer sees it+ hawthorne effect 7 It ignores the wider structures such as inequalities |
| Used to study classroom interactions Structured observations; Eg Flanders system of interaction analysis categories, which is used to measure interactions quantitatively-quicker, cheaper, requires less training+easily repliacted=reliable but it lacks validity | Less structured observ; 1 schools-complex+time consuming places Observations restricted eg timetable Privacy is hard to gain 2 covert in schools is unethical Observers may know info that could get a pupil into trouble (ilegal?)=hard to decide what to do Protection of ID! 3 Hard to reveal real attitudes+behaviours of children-trust needed Teachers-skilled at hiding feelings Language of pupils is different=hard to understand 5 Few covert roles=overt=hawthorne King tried to avoid contact by hiding in wendy house 6 small scale (edu is very large)=unrep 7 hard to replicate =unreliable Personal characteristics= pupils act differently to each observer |
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