The Pros and Cons of Participant Observation Essay

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Participant Observation as a Research Method This essay will examine how participant observation is used as a research method. In the main body of this essay, this idea will be addressed by pointing out advantages and disadvantages of participant observation. I will give examples to support my argument. Participant observation is the main research method favoured by interpetitivists. It involves the researcher participating in a social group to observe and experience the world as a participant while still observing the group for future analasys of their behaviour from the researchers point of view. The researcher must decide how he will approach†¦show more content†¦There are both advantages and disadvantages to participant observation. Participants face the problem of objectivity, it is often very time consuming, for example, Beverly Skeggs (1997), spent 12 years researching the lives of women on a caring course in England. Participants also face dangers and can also find themselves in situations they find morally unacceptable or illegal. Quantitative researchers samples are too small and while the researcher may get the bulk of his/her information from structured questions, they are not getting peoples true opinions. The conclusions can only apply to the specific group which the researcher has studied and cannot be generalised or replicated. The observer himself decides what information to select or omit and the fact that the observer is present in overt observations, it is believed that the group will not act naturally. This therefore questions the validity of the data collected. There are also many advantages to participant observation compared with other research methods. By preparing a questionaire, the researcher has already decided what questions he wants to ask and what information is important to the study.Show MoreRelatedThe Pros and Cons of Participant Observation or Surveys as a Research Method1937 Words   |  8 Pagessociologist too mention but a few, professions employ the daily observations we engage in as humans in a methodology called participant observation. Dewalt and Dewalt (2002:1) define participant observation as â€Å"a method in which a researcher takes part in the daily activities, events, rituals and interactions, of a group of people as one of the means of learning the explicit and tacit aspects of their life routine and culture.† Participant observation can be carried out in roles that reveal or hide the identityRead MoreQuantitative Methods and Analysis Unit 1 Db774 Words   |  4 Pageslooking for in the child. There are several pros and cons for a face-to-face interview method. 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