Ethnographic Observation

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Recommended: Participant observation in anthropology

Instrumentation
Observation, checklist and interviews were the research techniques and instruments used to complete the study.
Observation
This instrument was used to determine the behaviour of the participants. It involved surveying the students and their events to obtain information relating to particular characteristics of the participants and these events. Observations were done at different points in time during the research. The researcher utilized participant observation or ethnography. It involved the “researcher participating in the respondents’ daily lives for an extended period of time, watching what happens; listening to what is said, and/or asking questions through informal and formal interviews” (Ch Lok 2018). The researcher utilized …show more content…

It is better used where the literacy level of the respondents is low.
2. It can almost be used for all segments of the population
3. It usually yields a much better sample of the population
4. It is flexible and this makes it a very useful, powerful and dependable technique for data collection
5. It promotes frank discussions on controversial issues and allows for the collection of in-depth information from the respondents to any issues.
6. Allows clarification
Checklist
A checklist is a tool for identifying the presence or absence of conceptual knowledge, skills, or behaviours (British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2010). Checklists are used for identifying whether key tasks in a procedure, process, or activity have been completed (British Columbia Institute of Technology, 2010). These are items that comprise of several questions on the topic and require the same response format. Checklists structure a person’s observation or evaluation of a performance or artifact (Rosenblatt, 2012). This study used simple lists of criteria that were marked as present or absent, and provided space for observer comments.
Data

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