Assess The Advantages Of Overt Observation In Sociological Research

Also an advantage of participant observation is that the participant’s social behaviour is seen in their natural environment so there is higher external validity. However participant observation can be seen as unethical as the sociologist has a risk of possibly misrepresenting themselves gain information if they are using covert observation, nevertheless Barker used an overt approach. However it could be argued that due to the overt experiment that participants and in this case the Moonies have a high risk of the hawthorn effect which happens ‘when subjects’ [are] awareness of their participation in an experiment [so it] affects

their behaviour’ (Crossman, 2014) therefore the reliability of the research decreases as it would be hard to prove the accuracy of the Moonies actions whilst in the presence of Eileen Barker. Barker’s research did not breach any ethics guidelines; she was honest to the group throughout her experiment therefore she did not deceive the Moonies. She was true in the work she was conducting from the start and all within the group knew that she was a sociologist. Also the sociologist may break the confidence of the group they are studying, and the research may have negative consequences for the group being studied.
Moreover Barker also used in depth interviews as a research method, which are difficult to conduct the exact same also causing the research to be less reliable.

Yet the use of questionnaire is slightly more reliable are they are able to be replicated due to the hard copies; however over all the methods used cause the research to be low in reliability. The practical issues are that the research methods were time consuming such as the interviews and questionnaires also, they also take a long time to analyse the data produced from these types of methods, and also the printing of the questionnaires may be very expensive. Furthermore Barkers research had high validity, due to the period of time she used her research methods throughout the study, each of methods provided evidence for the other. If only one method was used it would be harder to prove the findings, compared to all of the methods having the same findings. Yet Barkers research cannot be generalised to all religion groups as only one group was studied, so the finding are not representative and the findings cannot be generalised to the wider population. Due to Barker’s involvement with all the members for up to six years her research is theoretical because it was conducted within their own

environment. While conducting the study Barker found that the no members came to any physical or psychological harm. Additionally Barker concluded that claims of brainwashing were ‘unsubstantiated’ (Chappell, 1984) since the members were free to the leave whenever they wished.
To conclude, whilst considering all of methods the research is lacking reliability, and the practicality of the research is low due to the cost and how time consuming of all of the methods. Yet barker did conduct an ethically approved study, which was theoretical due to the study being conducted in the natural settings of the group. However theoretical application cannot be reduced to a set of observations.