Hw 2

Compare and contrast the main types of observational methods

There are two main types of observational methods, participant observation and non-participant observation.

Participant observation is when reseachers join observant`s daily activities and observe what they do and say.while non-participant observation , researcher do not join them, the researcher 'hide' and observing their behaviour. Therefore, for those who use participant observation need to gain entry to join their daily activities which sometimes is extremely difficult and had high risk, such as the criminal group or the group of people taking drugs.

Participant observation offer chance to ask them more questions and collect further and detailed information.As researcher participate in observant`s daily activities, they could discover what people actually do, a higher valid data could be produced and find out how people see the world. And participant observation can provide insight, new direction of research which are less likely to be found out through other type of researches.Sometimes to use participant observation is the only way to obtain results, there are some groups that closed to outsiders such as criminal groups, therefore, join them and gaining trust is the only way to obtain data.
However, It could be very costly in term of time and money, and there is dangers involved. And there is the likelihood of loss of objectivity, observer may 'go native' and never return to normal live.People behaviour would be influenced as they noticed they are been observed.

Whereas Non-participant observation is less likely to influence observant.And they have more opportunities for using research aids such as notebooks.However, they will have much fewer opportunities to discover insights or even detailed information and the meaning of their actions. Therefore, much actions are interpreted based on researchers own views.

Interpretivisits showed favour to participant observation as a method for collecting data since it see the world from the observant`s view.