Assess the view that what participant observation lacks in terms of reliability Essay

Assess the view that what participant observation lacks in terms of reliability & representativeness, it more than makes up for in terms of validity. participant Observation is where the police detective infiltrates themselves into a certain group or mob to study them from within. The queryer usually puts themselves in a position where they atomic number 18 in the main part of the group, and they usually study the activities and attitudes of the different junto/group members.The observation is usually c arefully thought through, & it is usually save in field notes, and can often take months, even age to complete. Participant Observation usually doesnt start with a decided hypothesis, so spic-and-span views and thoughts about the group or the focusing that an idea may turn out usually come through when the observer is part of the group. You can either do heart-to-heart (people hit the hay you are doing it) or c everywheret (undercover) observations, or even a combinatio n of both.Although this may seem like a very kosher method to uptake, thither are quite a few disadvantages of doing this Bias is a equal because if the observer starts cosmos drawn into the group, their own views volition be derelict because they may start seeing things through the groups eyes, and may blind the researcher to other views that may be avail up to(p). The influence of the researcher may overly be a problem, because if a group know that they are being studied, they may alter their behaviour, and so the research is pointless.For example, with jam Patricks study of a Glaswegian plurality, he was suspected of retentiveness back in fights and being reluctant to participate in nigh of the activities of the Gang, and this was pointed out by a member of the gang, but thankfully, the leader of the Gang s likewised up for Patrick, because he was the only one who actually k bare-ass that the gang was being studied. Ethical Issues are also a problem, because if the rese archer goes in rattling deep with the group, thus they may have to illegal or debauched activities, which may go a take onst the researchers own values.The actual check of the study is also a problem because you have no way of replicating the exact study, and so have no way of knowing if the research is true or not. This kind of study is also on too small a scale, and so you cannot repeat it again. Also, due to the micro-ness of it, you cannot make generalisations for the full-page population based on one group, or if you were studying gangs and their motives for committing crimes or something like that, you cant imbibe that all other gangs will have the same motives.And finally, most researchers like to study the less mesomorphic groups in society, and there has been a debate over whether this is right or not because we can possibly miss the important issues that are outlet on. However, there are some advantages to using this method, and so we cannot just assume that all so ciologists see this as a bad method to use By joining a certain group, the sociologist would be able to gain knowledge of certain subjects from that groups point of view, and they would be able to fully understand the sorts of things that were going on, and gaining different perspectives.Also, you can generate new ideas from being in a new group, and this can lead you to new perspectives and ideas. You also get more of the truth and honesty if you are doing overt participant observation, so you can quite easily prove or disprove any hypotheses you have come up with. You are also to dig deeper into the group so to speak, because if you are a part of the group, then you can uncover issues that may normally remain hidden or are secretive.Participant observation is also dynamic because if you are with a group over time, you understand how they work and how attitudes and behaviour change over time. Lastly, you can dig deeper into areas that you arent typically able to reach, for example, with young offenders or religious groups. It is, however, simplistic to assume that participant observation will automatically produce valid results, as there are many threats to this validity.