Why do observational field research?

Social scientists often do research by going out and observing a setting, either as
participants in the activities or just as observers.

You will understand much more about your case by using observational methods than
you would otherwise. To see why, imagine your case is the fictional Community Wealth
Builders of Newton (CWBN). You have read their website (glowing like all promotional
materials) and analyzed a financial statement, so you wonder if maybe you already
know their work well enough to write up your SWOT analysis. Why do you have to do a
site visit too?

Here are two scenarios for what you observe during your orientation and tour at CWBN:

SCENARIO #1 SCENARIO #2
The space doesn’t seem to be just an office, but also The meeting starts 30 minutes late.
a community gathering site, as there are kids in a play
area and people drinking coffee on couches. You are
introduced to volunteers stuffing envelopes, who say
hi cheerfully.

The wall of the meeting room is covered with awards Pieces of plaster fall from gaps in the ceiling
and thank-you letters to CWBN, including some hand- onto your notebook. There’s a rotten smell
drawn pictures from kids. coming from up there.

You hear laughter. When you ask who’s laughing, the The employee who orients you slumps in her
employee who’s orienting you says, “That’s the chair. She rolls her eyes sarcastically as she
accounting office. They’re a hoot.” says CWBN’s peppy slogan.

The chairs are used and mismatched, but everything A phone is ringing and ringing in the office. No
is clean. one answers it.

During the tour of a building CWBN developed, you The employee asks someone else to take you
meet a resident of an affordable apartment who says on a tour. He mumbles and turns his back on
“CWBN changed my life.” her. She barks an order at him and he
complies, without looking at you or smiling.

By the end of the tour you feel like changing your
major and your internship plans so you can come
work there after graduation.
You start to feel embarrassed and
uncomfortable, like you shouldn’t be there.
You’re having flashbacks to your aunt and
uncle’s vicious fights when you were a kid. You
can’t wait to leave.

How would your SWOT analysis, particularly strengths and weaknesses, be different in
each of those scenarios?
How to do observational research
Go to the observation site with an open mind, open senses, and a pen and notebook (or
device to type on).

Jot down field notes continually while you are at the site, including before and after the
main event(s).

Then immediately afterwards, before doing anything else (for example, on the T ride
home), write your memories of what you observed and your responses. Go over your on-
side field notes and fill in missing words and correct errors. Add some reflections on what it
all adds up to.

What should be included in field notes:

1. Date, time, and place at top of page

2. Specific facts, numbers, details of what happens, who does what where when
3. Sensory impressions: sights, sounds, textures, smells, taste
4. All forms of communication, including formal and informal interactions, written materials
(e.g. a sign on the wall), and nonverbal communication (e.g., gestures, posture, facial
expressions)
5. Anything surprising about what does not happen (e.g. lack of a greeting)
6. Your own reactions (your emotions, judgments, physical comfort/discomfort,
questions/confusion)
7. Specific words, phrases, summaries of conversations, and insider language
8. Questions for future investigation

Your goal: Thick description!

Taking good field notes enables you to write “thick description”: a detail-rich write-up of a
social setting that makes the reader or listener feel like s/he was there, and like s/he
understands the significance of what happened.

It puts social interactions into context, both describing them and interpreting them.

It includes meanings and interpretations that are grounded in detailed sensory observations.

Example of thin versus thick description of Scenario #2 site visit (see other side)

Thin description: “We met with Nancy Updike for 40 minutes in the conference room. She told us
CWBN has existed for 18 years and developed 47 apartments and two small businesses. She gave us
brochures with photos of their projects. Then Ed Swift took us to an apartment three blocks away.”

Thick description: “The place gave us the creeps. No one greeted us, and the meeting started late.
Neglect of office maintenance was obvious in the broken ceiling raining plaster on us. We saw several
signs of low employee morale, such as an unanswered phone, Nancy rolling her eyes as she said their
slogan, Ed’s surliness about having to take us on a tour and Nancy’s harsh tone as she ordered him to
do it. Maybe this was a racial &/or age dynamic, as she is older and white, and he is younger and
black? We were all very uncomfortable. Afterward we exchanged our impressions and agreed that
CWBN seems to be an organization in trouble.”