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Collecting Primary Data: Observations
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Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:• Describe some of the advantages and
disadvantages of the observational approach.• Select an observational approach appropriate to
a given research objective.• Analyse and interpret observational data.• Produce observational data that are valid and
reliable.• Use observational methods in an ethical
manner.
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Observation: is there movement?
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Observation: shrinking haze
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Observation: left/right brain conflict
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Observation
• Triangulate with other data gathering methods.
• Getting to understand participants’ symbolic world.
• Observing what participants are unwilling to reveal.
• Observing the difference between what participants say or think they do, and what they actually DO.
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How do we ‘observe’?
Sensory INPUTS
• Sight
• Sound
• Smell
• Touch
• Taste
Interpretations OUTPUTS
Schemas/concepts
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Observation rolesOvert observation
Covert observation
Non-participantobservation
Participantobservation
Announced participant
Undercover participant
Announced observer
Undercover observer
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Merits of participant observation
Participant observation is of value in that it:
• Is effective at observing non-verbal behaviour.
• Is immediate in the sense that it elicits data on events as they happen.
• Allows for a more natural relationship to develop over time between the researcher and respondent.
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Challenges of participant observation
• Insider v. outsider status – confusion.
• ‘Going native’ – bias.
• Being ‘outed’ – respondent anger.
• Collecting the data – how/when?
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The process of observation
• Getting in.
• Informed consent.
• Becoming invisible.
• Building rapport.
• Handling identity.
• Observing and learning.
• Tracking.
• Developing relationships.
• Eavesdropping.
• Asking questions.
• Locating ‘stars’.
• Getting out.
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Gathering data: field notes
• Date, time, place.• Physical appearance of inhabitants.• Physical appearance of setting (layout, artefacts).• Observation of activities being undertaken
(including sequence of events).• Observation of non-verbal behaviours (body
language).• Tone of conversations (polite, formal, angry, etc.)• Key quotations.• Personal views, reflections and emotions.
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Expanding and analysing field notes
• Primary observation: chronological log. Raw data (i.e., no explanations or analysis) of observations on people, their surroundings, behaviours and conversations.
• Reflection and recall during the process of writing up field notes.
• Pre-analysis of data: ideas and inferences. • Experiential data: impressions and personal
feelings about events, people, conversations and interpretations of own emotional reactions.
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Structured observation
More quantitative than the use of field notes. Advantages include:• It should result in more reliable data because the
results can be replicated either by the same researcher at a different time, or by other researchers.
• It allows data to be collected at the time they occur and does not have to rely on the recall of participants or their interpretation of events.
• It collects data that participants themselves may not realize are important.
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Alternative ways of coding an event
Event 1 2 3
I I I I I I I I
Event 2 2 1 3 1 1 1 2 3
Elapsed time
(mins)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Event 1 2 3 2 2 1 1 2 2 1
(a) Simple checklist
(c) Sequence record on timescale
(b) Sequence record
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Enhancing validity
• Select cases/settings on the basis of their potential for being representative of the population.
• Study cases in one field that are similar to cases in another.
• Stay in the field long enough to observe or experience the full range of routines and behaviours that typify the case.
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Enhancing reliability
• Record observed events so that the data can be reviewed and, if necessary, re-interpreted by another researcher.
• Keep very comprehensive notes, as some details that appeared hardly relevant at the time of the observation may later prove to be crucial.
• Use structure in the data gathering process (e.g., coding events).
• Triangulation – multiple methods of data collection.
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Writing up observational data
Accounts could include:• The context of the study
(physical setting, history, etc.).
• The number of participants.• The activities taking place.• The division of labour and
hierarchies.• Significant events.• Members’ perspectives and
meanings.• Social rules and basic
patterns of order.
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Summary• Observation is more than just ‘seeing’; it also involves complex
combinations of all the senses and the interpretation of observed events.
• Observation can be overt or covert and involve the active participation of the observer or non-participation.
• One of the challenges of the observational approach is the gathering of data, particularly if the observer is a covert participant.
• Field notes should be as comprehensive as possible and should be taken either as events are observed or as soon as possible afterwards.
• Observational methods will often be triangulated with other research approaches, such as interviews and questionnaires.
• For structured observation, coding schedules will be used based on the principle of either noting events over a period of time or noting when an event occurs.
• Ethical issues arise, particularly where covert observation is being used. Researchers may do well to make use of a code of ethics drawn up by the relevant professional body, if such a code exists.