AS Sociology

Research methods Topic B

Getting you thinking

What is ethnography ? Ethnography is the term used to describe the work of

anthropologist who study small scale societies by living with the people and observing their daily lives.

This form of qualitative research can also involve methods such as audio and video recording, in depth interview, analysis of the internet and qualitative analysis of books, journals and magazines.

Types of observation

Participant,

Non participant,

Overt,

Covert

Conducting a participant observationTWO KEY ISSUES

1)Getting inStaying inGetting out

2)OvertCovert

Getting In Entry to the group you want to study Personal skills, connections, chance

Acceptance – issues of class, ethnicity, gender, age Sarah Thornton – ‘Kate’ key friend Role of the observer – avoid taking leadership roles do not

disrupt normal patterns

Sudhir Venkatesh (2008)

Blackman (1997)Hip Hop Scene in

Newcastle

John Howard Griffin – ‘Black like me’Some social researchers go the great lengths to

conduct participant observations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPP_n6cE_TA

Staying in Stay in - complete the study One danger of staying in the group is becoming over-

involved ‘going native’ Moore (2004) – young people hanging around.

Acceptance by the group, Recording information (field diaries), Research diaries (quotations), Maintaining objectivity – Bourgois (2003), Influencing the situation – Lyng (1993)

Getting outPractically easier than getting inJames Patrick (1973) -left the Glasgow gang due

to the violenceLeaving a group you are attached to can be

difficultRe-entering ones normal world can also be difficultLoyalty to group

Participant Observations Maurice Punch (1979) James Patrick (1973) Sarah Thornton (1995)

Sudhir Venkatesh (2008) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRq1AhFAN-4

Explain what is meant by the term going ‘native’

How might going native lead to invalid data?

Overt

Avoids ethical problem of deception /consentAllows observer to ask naive but important questions

Openly take notes

A group may refuse to be studied/ prevent observer seeing everything

Hawthorne effect

CovertReduces the risk of altering people’s behaviour and sometimes is the only way to obtain valid information as it preserves the naturalness of peoples behaviour

Humphreys (1970) – gay men in toiletsHowever requires researcher to act, the sociologist cannot take open notes or ask questions – the addition of a new group member may change the groups behaviour

Consider this... You are a social scientist hoping to carry out research on:

1) Gangs in north London

2) Schools in Newcastle

3) Dance music culture in Spain

Would you conduct an overt or covert observation? Why?

Participants Observations

AS SOCIOLOGY – RM

ADVANTAGES OF PO

Validity: what people say when they fill in a questionnaires and what they do in real life is

totally different – observation in this sense provides sociologist with valid qualitative data.

Insight: the best way to truly understand what something is like is to experience it for

ourselves.

Flexibility: PO is a much more flexible method of research which allows the researcher to follow up themes which they might find of interest outside of the context of the study.

Validity: what people say when they fill in a questionnaires and what they do in real life is

totally different – observation in this sense provides sociologist with valid qualitative data.

Practical advantages: only way to get an insight into topic which society might deem as deviant, allows the researcher to build rapport

with the focus group.

Disadvantages of PO

Practical disadvantages: time consuming, researcher training, can be personally and emotionally demanding, requires good interpersonal skills, personal characteristics such as age or

gender can have a negative impact on the study.Ethical problems: deception, participation in immoral or illegal activities,

Representativeness: group studied tends to be very small and is often selected haphazardly. Reduces the ability to make generalisation (internal validation as

opposed to external validation)

Reliability: success of the research depends on a researcher personal skills or characteristics,

rejected by positivist as an unsystematic method which cannot be replicated by other researchers.

Bias and lack of objectivity: going native during observation affects the objectivity of the researcher,

concealment of important information (reprisal), sympathy towards the “underdog”.

Validity: “verstehen” which allows the sociologist to become an insider, positivist argue that findings

from those studies on that basis are highly subjective and that the researcher is more likely to

select the facts they are interested in.

Lack of concept of structure: interactionist favour observation as it involves micro scale interactions of members, structural theorist on the other hand

believe that observation ignore the wider structure that shapes and influences behaviour.

Read and write taskGo through the study for Venkatesh on pp.17

Complete the tasks on pp.21 and pp.22