3. Getting out this has to be done without damaging the or – relationships but with enough detachment to write an accurate and impartial account. There is also the risk of a reprisal against the researcher if the research was covert or involved illegal activities Examples of participant observation: 1. James Patrick, A Glasgow Gang Observed (1973) covertly studied a – violent and delinquent teenage gang for four months. 2. William Foote Whyte, Street Corner Society (1955) a study of an – Italian-American street corner gang in Boston that lasted over three and a half years. Whyte lived with the gang and even participated in illegal activity. Gain first-hand knowledge of the group being studied  is less of a chance of misleading the researcher therefore results  could be more valid Positivists could question the validity and reliability as they question  how the results could be checked is a risk that the researcher could become too loyal and involved  with the group that they begin to see the world only as those being researched do. Non-participant Observation This method allows people to be observed in their normal social situations and avoids the risk of researcher influence (the Hawthorne effect.) Researchers can observe from the background, through one way glass or the use of video clips. The researchers do not make themselves known reducing the risk of them influencing the result but meaning that they are not able to probe further into the meaning people attach to their behaviours. This means that the results are more likely to reflect the assumptions and interpretations of the researcher rather than of those being researched.
3. Getting out – this has to be done without damaging the or relationships but with enough detachment to write an accurate and impartial account. There is also the risk of a reprisal against the researcher if the research was covert or involved illegal activities Examples of participant observation: 1. James Patrick, A Glasgow Gang Observed (1973) – covertly studied a violent and delinquent teenage gang for four months. 2. William Foote Whyte, Street Corner Society (1955) – a study of an Italian-American street corner gang in Boston that lasted over three and a half years. Whyte lived with the gang and even participated in illegal activity.  Gain first-hand knowledge of the group being studied  is less of a chance of misleading the researcher therefore results could be more valid  Positivists could question the validity and reliability as they question how the results could be checked  is a risk that the researcher could become too loyal and involved with the group that they begin to see the world only as those being researched do. Non-participant Observation This method allows people to be observed in their normal social situations and avoids the risk of researcher influence (the Hawthorne effect.) Researchers can observe from the background, through one way glass or the use of video clips. The researchers do not make themselves known reducing the risk of them influencing the result but meaning that they are not able to probe further into the meaning people attach to their behaviours. This means that the results are more likely to reflect the assumptions and interpretations of the researcher rather than of those being researched.
research-methods-revision-guide.docx