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
observation
TWO KEY ISSUES
1)
 Getting in
 Staying in
 Getting out
2)
 Overt
 Covert
Getting In
 Entry to the group you want to study
 Personal skills, connections, chance
Sudhir Venkatesh
(2008)
Blackman (1997)
Hip Hop Scene in
Newcastle
 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
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 overinvolved ‘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 out
 Practically easier than getting in
 James Patrick (1973) -left the Glasgow gang due
to the violence
 Leaving a group you are attached to can be
difficult
 Re-entering ones normal world can also be difficult
 Loyalty to group
Participant Observations
 Maurice Punch (1979)
 James Patrick (1973)
 Sarah Thornton (1995)
Sudhir Venkatesh (2008)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRq1AhFA
N-4
Explain what is meant by the term going
‘native’
How might going native lead to invalid data?
Overt

Avoids ethical problem of deception /consent
Allows observer to ask naive but important
questions
Openly take notes

A group may refuse to be studied/ prevent
observer seeing everything
Hawthorne effect
Covert

Reduces 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 toilets

However 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
Flexibility:
PO
isway
awhat
much
more
method
Insight:
the best
to truly
understand
what
questionnaires
and
they
doflexible
in real
life
is
Validity:
what
people
say
when
they
fill
in
a
Practical
advantages:
only
way
to
get
an
of
research
which
allows
theinresearcher
to is
something
is–like
iswhat
to experience
itreal
forlife
totally
different
observation
this
sense
questionnaires
and
they
do
in
insight
into
topic
which
society
might
deem
as
follow
up
themes
which
they
might
find
of
ourselves.
provides
sociologist
with
valid
qualitative
data.
totally different
– observation
in this
sense
deviant,
allows
the
researcher
to
build
rapport
interest outside of the context of the study.
provides sociologist
valid
qualitative data.
with thewith
focus
group.
Practical disadvantages: time consuming, researcher training,
can be personally and emotionally demanding, requires good
interpersonal skills, personal characteristics such as age or
Representativeness:
group studied
tends to be very
Ethical
problems:
deception,
participation
in
gender
can have
a negative
impact
on the depends
study.
Reliability:
success
of the
research
on
Disadvantages
of
PO
small and is often selected haphazardly. Reduces the a
immoral
illegal
activities,
Bias
and
lack
oforobjectivity:
going
native during
researcher
personal
skills
or
characteristics,
Validity:
“verstehen”
which
allows
the sociologist
ability to make generalisation (internal validation
as
observation
affects
the
objectivity
of
the
researcher,
rejected
by
positivist
as
an unsystematic
method
of
concept
structure:
interactionist
favour
opposed
toof
external
validation)
toLack
become
an insider,
positivist
argue that
findings
concealment
of
important
information
(reprisal),
which
cannot
be
replicated
by
other
researchers.
observation
as
it
involves
micro
scale
from those studies on that basis areinteractions
highly
sympathy
towards
the
“underdog”.
of members,
theorist on
other
hand
subjective
and structural
that the researcher
is the
more
likely
to
believe
that the
observation
the widerin.
structure
select
facts theyignore
are interested
that shapes and influences behaviour.
Read and write task
Go through the study for Venkatesh
on pp.17
Complete the tasks on pp.21 and
pp.22