Structured observation
One of the criticisms often levelled at structured observation is that:
It does not allow us to impose any framework on the social setting
It only generates a small amount of data
It is unethical to observe people without an observation schedule
It does not allow us to understand the intentions behind behaviour
It does not allow us to understand the intentions behind behaviour
Structured observation does impose a framework onto the social setting being observed. The problem is that the framework may be inappropriate or even irrelevant. Because of its focus on behaviour, it cannot easily study intentions of human actions, in other words, the meanings behind behaviour. Another problem is that lots of fragmentary data is gathered, which can be hard to integrate into a coherent whole. Interpretivist sociologists are often reluctant to use this method because the focus on observable behaviour often means neglecting to consider the subjective meanings that people give to their actions. This may suggest that observation should usually be accompanied with another data-gathering method, whether the research strategy is quantitative or qualitative.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 279
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 279
It does not allow us to understand the intentions behind behaviour Structured observation does impose a framework onto the social setting being observed. The problem is that the framework may be inappropriate or even irrelevant. Because of its focus on behaviour, it cannot easily study intentions of human actions, in other words, the meanings behind behaviour. Another problem is that lots of fragmentary data is gathered, which can be hard to integrate into a coherent whole. Interpretivist sociologists are often reluctant to use this method because the focus on observable behaviour often means neglecting to consider the subjective meanings that people give to their actions. This may suggest that observation should usually be accompanied with another data-gathering method, whether the research strategy is quantitative or qualitative.
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 279
Reference: Bryman: Social Research Methods: 5th Edition Page(s) 279
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What did Salancik mean by “field stimulations”?A. Being immersed in the field can help to simulate the experience of your informants
B. Researchers can intervene in and manipulate a setting to observe the effects
C. Surveys conducted in the field are more effective than structured observation
D. Some researchers find their projects so stimulating that they have to lie down
LaPiere conducted a study of the way restaurant owners granted or refused access to a Chinese couple. This is an example of observing behaviour in terms of:
A. Individuals
B. Incidents
C. Short time periods
D. Long time periods
The key advantage of structured observation over survey research is that:
A. It does not rely on the researcher’s ability to take notes
B. The researcher is immersed as a participant in the field they are studying
C. It does not impose any expectations of behaviour on the respondents
D. It allows you to observe people’s behaviour directly
Which of the following is not a type of sampling used in structured observation?
A. Focal sampling
B. Scan sampling
C. Emotional sampling
D. Behaviour sampling
What is meant by the term “reactive effect”?
A. If people know they are being observed, they may change their behaviour
B. Research subjects may have a bad reaction to the drugs they are given
C. Researchers sometimes react to their informants’ behaviour with horror
D. The categories on an observation schedule may not be mutually exclusive
What is an observation schedule?
A. A set of explicit rules for assigning behaviour to categories
B. A timetable of days on which you plan to carry out your observation
C. A list of questions to ask your interviewees
D. A way of testing for measurement validity
Cohen’s kappa is a measure of:
A. Inter-surveyor consistency
B. Intra-observer validity
C. Intra-coder validity
D. Inter-observer consistency
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