Observation research method

Being on site over a period of time familiarizes the researcher community, thereby facilitating involvement in sensitive activities to which he/she generally would not be reduces the incidence of "reactivity" or people acting in a certain way when they are aware of being helps the researcher to develop questions that make sense in the native language or are culturally gives the researcher a better understanding of what is happening in the culture and lends credence to one's the observation. Participant observation is the process enabling researchers to learn about the the people under study in the natural setting through observing and participating in those activities. The recording of the interview makes it easier for the researcher to focus on the interview content and the verbal prompts and thus enables the transcriptionist to generate “verbatim transcript” of the rly, in focus groups, invited groups of people are interviewed in a discussion setting in the presence of the session moderator and generally these discussions last for 90 min.

When writing up one's ethnographic observations, kutsche advises that the the lead of spradley and mccurdy (1972) and find a cultural scene, spend time with the informants, asking clarifying answers, analyze the material, pulling together the themes into a well-organized story. Further, in the writing of ethnography, the particular place researcher on this continuum should be made clear" (dewalt & dewalt, 2002 p. Validity is a term typically associated with quantitative research; however, when viewed in terms of its meaning of is purported to be measured/observed, its use is appropriate.

Aspects of conducting observations are discussed above, but these are not the only ways to conduct observations. Controlled observations are fairly quick to conduct which means that many observations can take place within a short amount of time. The range of roles one may play as a participant observer have been describe by gold (1958), adler and adler (1984) and d (1998) suggests that participant observation must be learned in the field.

One is constructing a model of culture, not truth about the data, as there are numerous truths, particularly when presented from each individual participant's researcher should set out an outline of the information he/she has, organize the information according to the outline,Then move the points around as the argument of one's study dictates. The researcher decides where the observation will take place, at what time, with which participants, in what circumstances and uses a standardised procedure. Researchers use all of their senses to examine people in natural settings or naturally occurring ation of a field setting involves:Prolonged engagement in a setting or social y expressed, self-conscious notations of how observing is ical and tactical improvisation in order to develop a full understanding of the setting of ing attention in ways that is in some sense 'standardized'.

The degree to which the researcher may participate may be determined by the researcher or by the community. 7] in order to have the interview data captured more effectively, recording of the interviews is considered an appropriate choice but sometimes a matter of controversy among the researcher and the respondent. Sociologists, they note, typically use document analysis to check their results, while anthropologists tend their findings through participant observation.

They encourage the novice researcher to practice reflexivity at the beginning of one's research to help him/her biases he/she has that may interfere with correct interpretation of what is observed. His emphasis is on the relationship between the researcher and informants as collaborative researchers who, ng solid relationships, improve the research process and improve the skills of the researcher to conduct research. Because the researcher the setting under study, but not to the extent that he/she becomes too absorbed to observe and analyze what is question frequently is asked, should the researcher be concerned about his/her role of participant observer situation.

Through these activities, the researcher has access to community can explain the meaning that such activities hold for them as individuals and can use conversations to elicit data of more formal interviews. Rapport is also the issue of reciprocity, the giving back of something in return for their sharing their lives with the researcher. And his associates developed an outline of the stages of participant observation fieldwork that includes initial contact;.

Observation—this exercise encourages students to use photographs to help them remember activities, and photographs can serve as aspects of activities that are not easily described. The researcher ine to what extent he/she will participate in the lives of the participants and whether to intervene in a r potential limitation they mention is that of researcher bias. This makes it difficult for another researcher to repeat the study in exactly the same way.

For example, with covert observations researchers can’t take notes openly as this would blow their cover. By collecting the data through observation and record field notes as well as to involve themselves with study participants. Having good writing skills, that is, ely and compellingly, is also necessary to good participant observation.

Using different data collection and observation, in particular, leads to richer understanding of the social context and the ul, schensul, and lecompte (1999) also suggest that observation is filtered through one's interpretive frames and that. Should use personal contacts to ease entry; these would include key informants who serve as gatekeepers, but bernard t choosing a gatekeeper who represents one side of warring factions, as the researcher may be seen as affiliated faction. Over time, such change, with the season, for example, so persistent observation of activities or events that one has already observed may be necessary.