Participant observation is a vital contribution to communication research. It is when the researcher actually participates in the interaction and records their findings at the same time. They actually experience the social setting in hopes to understand the social world. In the case of participant observation, there are four skills that one can develop that will help with the possibility of success when performing this research.
Starting off with Tolerance for marginality, researchers must keep in mind that what they say and how they react will curve how the other participants respond. It is important for researchers to keep their biases out of the conversation, to stay in a neutral role in the group. As said by Lindlof and Taylor (2011),
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Lindlof and Taylor (2011) states, “distinctive experiences of embodiment may be exactly what fieldworkers should appreciate in documenting a scene” (p138). The colors in the room, the scent, light and others all contribute toward the research because even these little things have an affect on people.
Spontaneous Decision Making is essential to taking part in participant observation. The observer notices the little things and is able to see them as evidence of why one is saying or acting how they do. Being able to quickly establish this is decide what course is to be taking because what was said or done might not happen again, and it is important to establish whether it was important or not.
Lastly, it is important to be an ethical person while performing participant observation or any kind of research for that matter. However, there is always a tension that is there between the researchers and participants. It can be easy to take it one step too far in the sake of research. “First, do no harm” is what all researchers and observers should keep in
The scientific method and rules of ethics are important tools when researching and experimenting. When researchers abide by these guidelines, experimentation is considered to be safe for the test subjects, as well as the person conducting the research is considered reputable. Experiments go awry, however, when researchers ignore the scientific method and rules of ethics. The experiments of Alfred Kinsey and the scientific team of William Masters and Virginia Johnson have been criticized for their methods of research and sense of ethics. Both scientific teams researched human sexuality, a topic in which is perpetually scrutinized. Kinsey and Masters and Johnson were not always ethical in their studies, and did not always follow the scientific method.
The APA ethical guidelines help to ensure that all psychological research maintains the integrity that it does not do harm or conflicts with the majority of the human populations moral ethical codes. However, in some situations the APA ethical guidelines must be viewed as just that: guidelines. If a study has the potential to benefit humanity as a whole and does not result in the permanent or irreparable harm to a human being then some guidelines must be permitted to be stretched or even broken in the interest of human advancement and scientific progression. After all the goal and responsibility of a psychologist is to enhance our understanding of human behavior as well as to find ways to use this information to better society and humanity as a whole. In a circumstance that has the potential to achieve this goal, violation of the APA ethical guidelines is acceptable on the condition that the research maintains the integrity of not inflicting irreparable damage or harm to the subjects being used. This includes psychological harm, physical harm, or social humiliation to any human being regardless of age, size, race, gender, disability or other determining characteristic.
Observation allows researchers to experience a specific aspect of social life and get a firsthand look at a trend, institution or behaviour. It promotes good communication skills, improves decision making and enhances awareness.
== == There were many ethical issues raised in this study, for example the lack of informed consent, deception and debriefing. The participants were deceived about the nature of the study.
I decided to do my ethnographic observation at Enterprise Elementary School. I went to the preschool on both Monday and Tuesday of SUU’s fall break. They have three preschool classes throughout the day that last about an hour and a half each. The classes each consist of around fifteen young students. Their ages range from as young as four up to six. There was a generally equal split between boys and girls, yet there were a few more boys overall. The children came from a variety of backgrounds. Some were Mexican or African-American and a few spoke two languages and one even spoke three. They often confused words and would mix the languages, yet these students seemed to pick up new concepts faster than some of the others.
Regardless of the reason or type of approach employed, it is never tolerable for a person to adjust or slant results from research to arrive at any particular conclusion; for such actions can have disastrous consequences to others. Also, the issue of ethics becomes a f...
In conclusion, exploiting research participants and conducting studies that are blatantly unethical is fortunately no longer being done. Although ethics codes, principles, and strict regulations have evolved over time, it is a continuous process that should never go by the wayside.
According to the article “Ethics in Research,” in order for an experiment to be ethical, it must uphold the rights of the participants in the areas of consent and harm (“Ethics in Research”). Consent implies that the participant has the right to decide whether or not they want to participate in the experiment (“Ethics in Research”)...
The type of group I attended was an NA group called "Don't ask, Don't tell" andwas located in lake wales, FL. The specific purpose for this group is to help those that are going through recovery and help maintain a clean lifestyle. There were six participants in the group ages ranging from 23-60. The unique part about this group had a intimate setting. Everyone within the group treated one another as family. No one seem uncomfortable nor stand off within the group. The group facilitator was a recovering addict and had been clean for 10 years. The facilitator had clear knowledge of the disease of addition being that he was once in their shoes. The one thing that stood out about the facilitator was that he knew his group well and very calm and basically relate to
Anthropology is the study of cultural diversity and what it is that makes us human. In order for Anthropologists to come to conclusions they must do research. There are two types of anthropological research that exist: looking at existing studies and theories and personal interest. Ethnographic research is a unique aspect of anthropology that aims to answer questions by doing field research. Unobtrusive and participant are the two types of observations and this essay will be looking at the later. Alfred Shultz (1971) describes participant observation as a balancing attempt to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange. This essay will aim at explaining what participant observation is and demonstrate the advantages and disadvantages of this method. Then, compare and contrast Els Van Dongens and Laura Bohannans experience of fieldwork and their different approaches and findings when becoming a participant observer.
This balance is quite important as the well being of participants is at risk. Over the last twentieth century, there have been numerous examples in which ethical principles have not been considered in research leading to ethical breaches that have negative implications on study participants.1 One US human experimentation study which breached ethical conduct was the US Public Health Service Syphilis Study, more commonly known as the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, which was conducted from 1932 through 1972.2 The study recruited 399 African-American male subjects diagnosed with syphilis. The recruited men came from poor, rural counties around Tuskegee, Alabama. The stated purpose of the study was to obtain information about the course of untreated syphilis. The study was initially meant to be for 6 months, however the study was modified into a “death as end-point study”.
Following the ethical codes and getting approval from the Institutional Review Board (if the study has human subjects) can really decrease the possibility of any harm being done to the participants. A perfect example of a research study that had lots of things unethical practices was the Tuskegee Syphilis study:
Therefore, the use of human participants in Psychology’s empirical research methods is essential to the scientific discoveries within the field. Carrying out this research means possibly subjecting participants to manipulated environments that may directly or indirectly impact their well-being. This is where ethics becomes an important cornerstone of Psychological Research
Now we will consciously or unconsciously make decisions which we think are for the best for us, for the ones we care for, or for the society or organisation as a whole. In order to make wiser decisions we should know what contributes in making a good or a bad choice. We should know what all options are there available to us and mak...
When it comes to the disadvantages of participant observation as a research methodology, the researcher's primary concern is time. Participant observation can be a time-consuming method of data gathering. The reading mentioned a study conducted by Whyte that took fours years to complete. Time becomes a matter if the researcher is not particularly sure of what he is looking for his study and can recognize specific details. There must be time allotted to record your findings and get research problems answered (Hagan, 2010).