The Usefulness of Participant Observation as a...

The Usefulness of Participant Observation as a Sociological Method Unlike other research methods participant observation allows the sociologist to look at people in their natural environment. It is often referred to as a naturalistic approach. The research does not artificially interfere with people’s lives and they are free to act as normal. This allows the researcher to gain an insight which surveys cannot produce. This is illustrated by a well-known quote: â€Å"As I sat and listened, I learned the answers to questions I would not have the sense to ask if I had been getting my information solely on an interview basis.† By W.F. Whyte, â€Å"street corner society† 1981. The kind of data produced by†¦show more content†¦Furthermore participant observation is useful carried out before a survey to help design questionnaires and identify issues. There are a number of different ways of carrying out participant observation. Some researchers for example hardly participate at all in the group they are observing while others are very much a part of the group. Some observers announce who they are and explain their research to their research subjects to the group; which is overt and some observers act secretively pretending to be a group member and write down what they observe; this is covert. An example of covert participant observation that has been carried out is James Patrick’s research. The purpose of the research was to discover what life was like in a Glasgow gang. An example of overt participant observation is Eileen Barker’s study in â€Å"The making of a Moonie† (1984) where she investigated into the Unification church to discover if participants were ‘brainwashed.’ Participant observations however also has disadvantages to its ‘usefulness.’ The problem is representativeness. It is not possible to generalise as the research carried out only gives information about a small group of people. 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