Observational Study Assignment
Independent Study
Task: You will be conducting a short observational study and presenting
your findings in a paper.
Chapter 6: Observing in A Rhetoric for the Social Sciences provides vital information
on how to carry out an observational study. Use the guidelines in the text to plan and
conduct your own observational study. Also, check out Suggestions for Research and
Writing at the end of the chapter for ideas.
We all watch people: in a restaurant, in the hallways at school, at the mall, even at a
stoplight. Not only do we watch what people do, we evaluate their actions, analyze what
they do, and then we make judgments based on the behavior we see. We form
conclusions about people in general from the actions of others. Observing people is not
only valuable in terms of forming opinions about the human nature, it is also fun.

Think about a specific type of behavior that you would like to test out: for
example, do college-age women chat more when they eat than college-aged men?
Who is more likely to wave back at you when you stand on the side of the road?
Who is more likely to open the door for you when your arms of full of books? Do
elderly persons buy more “comfort food” than people of other ages?

Determine which locations would yield the best results. How much time should
you spend there? Do you need to evaluate several different places?

Plan what you will do. Set goals for work to be done. What tasks need to be
done initially? When is the paper due? How much time will you need to write
the paper?

You have plenty of time to work on this assignment; however, don’t wait until the
last minute. Observing usually takes time and your full attention.
Look at the student example and use it as a guide for your paper. When you read this
example, notice the headings: abstract, introduction, methods, results, and discussion.
You can use these headings or create your own.

Analyze the student example by answering these questions:
1. What do the authors of this paper include in their observational study that will
be useful for you to include?
2. What is the writing style like?
3. Did they receive the information they were looking for?