To observe a kestrel, you have to find a kestrel.Imagine that you wanted to observe the behavior of the kestrel in the photo above. Why? What is so hard about just observing something? You just sit and look, right? Because of that, the skill of scientific observation can be very challenging. For observation, the goal is not to disturb or influence anything. You do something, change something, or test something. What is the difference? In an experiment, you participate. Observational research falls under the paradigm of interpretivism.Ĭovert participant observation involves lying to the participant - it is a breach of informed consent.Observation plays a very large role in the study of science, although it is often skimmed over in favor of experiments. Where the researcher's presence is known, it's relatively simple for them to take notes, because they don't need to hide the fact that they're conducting research. It's common for researchers to pop into the bathroom to make a quick note of something important, or to summarise their daily observations every evening. Taking notes is more difficult when they're acting covertly. The informant will be aware of the researcher's presence and can answer questions that are not addressed by observation alone. If they're conducting covert research, they might enlist an informant. Where simply observing the crowd isn't enough, the researcher might need to ask some questions. This means that the researcher has to avoid influencing the behaviour of anyone in the group. While conducting participant observation, the researcher should focus on capturing an accurate and authentic account of the community's way of life. This technique is commonly used in ethnography. In participant observation, the researcher integrates themselves into a group to study their way of life, their culture, and how they structure their community. In overt research, the research participants are all aware of the researcher's presence and their role as an observer. In covert research, the research participants don't know who the researcher is, or that there's even a researcher there at all. It's important to note that observational methods can be covert or overt. They're each suited to different research purposes, and have different strengths and limitations. There are several types of observational methods used across many social science disciplines. 1 - Observations capture behaviour instead of words Types of observation in sociology This is the opposite of the secondary research method, where researchers choose to study data that has already been collected before their study begins.įig. Primary research involves personally collecting the data or information being studied. Observation is a primary research method. This is different from techniques such as interviews or questionnaires because observations are a study of what subjects do instead of what they say. In sociological research, 'observation' refers to a method in which researchers study the ongoing behaviour of their participants (or subjects). While this definition is useful in general terms, it's of little use when contemplating the use of observation as a sociological research method.
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