Examine The Problems That Sociologist May Face When Using Covert Participant Observation And Covert Non
Examine the problems that sociologist may face when using covert participant observation and covert non-participant observation in their research. (20 marks)
The problems with covert participant observation could be that the researcher may be influenced to join in with the activities of the group, in order to fit in especially to investigate the target group. By being covert, researchers would need to do it in secrecy for them to gain knowledge of the group, but it would be hard for the researcher to record information due to the participation between the researcher and the group.
Furthermore, an ethical problem would be the consent of the subject as the researcher directly went to the group without their consent and recorded information about them, which raises questions of if it’s ethical but may be the only way for the researcher to get valid information, so the group would act more natural not knowing they are being observed, also it be helpful when observing deviant or criminal groups.
Moreover, the researcher may not ask direct or native question because they may raise suspension of their true intensions, so the researcher would other ways to gain knowledge of the group.
Secondly, the researcher study small groups who are isolated from the rest of population, which cannot be generalised to the wider population.
Whereas covert non-participant researchers would not get involved with the group and this may leave the researcher with a limited understanding of the group, also it may raise suspension as they are not participating and would observe from a far. To add to this point, the Hawthorn effect may occur as the group know they are being watched, which then leads to inaccurate data collected and it would not be valid, thus restricting the researcher from fully understanding the group.
Overall I believe covert participant observation would be better when researching difficult subjects; this is because the researcher gains a better understanding of the
The problems with covert participant observation could be that the researcher may be influenced to join in with the activities of the group, in order to fit in especially to investigate the target group. By being covert, researchers would need to do it in secrecy for them to gain knowledge of the group, but it would be hard for the researcher to record information due to the participation between the researcher and the group.
Furthermore, an ethical problem would be the consent of the subject as the researcher directly went to the group without their consent and recorded information about them, which raises questions of if it’s ethical but may be the only way for the researcher to get valid information, so the group would act more natural not knowing they are being observed, also it be helpful when observing deviant or criminal groups.
Moreover, the researcher may not ask direct or native question because they may raise suspension of their true intensions, so the researcher would other ways to gain knowledge of the group.
Secondly, the researcher study small groups who are isolated from the rest of population, which cannot be generalised to the wider population.
Whereas covert non-participant researchers would not get involved with the group and this may leave the researcher with a limited understanding of the group, also it may raise suspension as they are not participating and would observe from a far. To add to this point, the Hawthorn effect may occur as the group know they are being watched, which then leads to inaccurate data collected and it would not be valid, thus restricting the researcher from fully understanding the group.
Overall I believe covert participant observation would be better when researching difficult subjects; this is because the researcher gains a better understanding of the