The Research Process

What is Research?
Research is a systematic attempt to provide answers to questions. It involves
investigating/uncovering facts and then formulating a generalization based on
the interpretation of those facts. It originates with a question or problem.
Characteristics of the Research Process
1. It is a structured and systematic process that follows certain
rules/procedures for arriving at conclusions.
2. It is logical and subjected to the rules of critical thinking and validity
which we associate with the argument.
3. It is empirical – based on data scientifically collected about which
generalizations may be made.
4. It requires the collection and interpretation of data in attempting to
resolve the problem that initiated the research.
5. It is replicable. Others should be able to replicate the process and
procedure set out in your methodology and get the same results. This
ensures the validity of your process.
Selecting a Research Problem
A research problem/question should have the following characteristics:
 It should ask about the relationships between two or more variables.
[Variables are concepts/things that take on different values; in fact things
that vary and can be measured.]
 It should be clearly stated and unambiguous.
 It should be stated in the form of a question, either direct or implied.
 It should be testable; that is you should be able to collect data to answer
the question asked.
 It should not be about a moral or ethical position. Questions about ideas
or values are more difficult to study than questions about attitude and
performance. This is because there is hardly any universally accepted
definition on which moral or ethical judgements can be based. For
example, vagueness of meaning would prove a problem considering the
topic- ‘Which is the best school attending the CAPE workshop today?’ or
‘Is lying a bad thing to do under all circumstances?’
The research project that the students are required to do is a modification of the
research process as most of us know it or have conducted it. It involves the
following tasks:
a. Identifying a problem to be investigated.
b. Examine variables relevant to the problem through a review of literature.
This should help with the Statement of the Issue.
c. Identify sources of data and collect the data. This involves the selection
and use of data collection tools appropriate to the nature of the problem being
investigated.
d. Report in summary the data collected from various sources and be sure to
identify each source.
e. Analyze the validity and reliability of all the data and each source from
which it comes. Evaluate the effect of source, context, and medium/media on
the credibility, reliability and validity(truth) on the information presented.
Considering Variables
Identify the variables in your research problem/topic and the relationship
between them help to focus on aspects of the topic which require more detailed
study/investigation. It should also help you to decide on the best way(s) to
gather data on your topic.
Validity and Reliability
The terms validity and reliability are commonly used in Module 1 of the
Communication Studies syllabus. We encounter them in the research project
where they refer to the researcher’s methodology and also when evaluating the
argument where they refer to truth and believability. These various contexts
occasion subtle differences in meaning which have to be properly nuanced to
avoid confusion for both student and teacher.
Survey Research
When a researcher selects data collection tools to be used she is hoping to
capture reality as truthfully as possibly. She aims to use tools that will measure
the phenomenon being studied as precisely and accurately as possibly. Here
validity and reliability are primarily concerned with measurement instruments.
It is important to the scientific method and integrity of your research findings
that measurements and scoring are both accurate and precise.
Validity, to the researcher, refers to the extent to which her research
instruments (questionnaire, interview, observation etc) actually measure what
they are supposed to measure. In determining whether one’s research
methodology is sound and effective, the researcher should seek to answer the
following questions:
 What does the instrument/test measure?
 Does it, in fact, measure what it is supposed to measure?
 How well or how accurately does it measure it?
There are several types of validity which the student researcher must consider
before she can make any claims for her research. These include:
Face Validity: This calls on the researcher to make a subjective judgement as to
whether her research instruments are measuring what they are supposed to
measure and whether the sample of the population selected to be measure is
representative of the behaviour/opinion or trait that is being measured.
Content Validity: This refers to the accuracy with which an instrument
measures the content that is being studied. It includes how accurately questions
asked tend to elicit the information which the researcher seeks.
Internal Validity: This refers to the freedom from bias when drawing
conclusions from the data which might arise because of how the research
instrument was designed.
External Validity: This refers to the extent that conclusions drawn from a
sample may be generalized to other cases in your target population.

Reliability refers to how well (accurately and consistently) a research

instrument performs by measuring the factors for which it was designed. A
measured instrument may prove unreliable for a number of reasons which
include:
 The fact that the sample responding to the instrument may vary in their
responses
 Inconsistency in the way the instrument is administered usually due to
inadequate training of the data collectors and
 Changes over time in the phenomenon being measured
The test-retest method is one of the most popular ways to check reliability of
an instrument. By this method the researcher compares the results of two
separate tests of the same phenomenon, using the same measuring instruments
but done at different times.

Evaluating Sources: The Argument

After the student has identified and gathered data from various sources for her
project, she will be required to make some judgement. When analyzing the data,
as to whether the content, channel and sources of the data are valid and
reliable. The emphasis here is no longer on methodology but on truth,
trustworthiness, acceptability and soundness of the information gathered.
Validity of information obtained from a source refers to whether the
information is sound, logical, incontestable and based on good judgement,
reasoning and evidence. It may also refer to whether the information is worthy
of belief or acceptance because of precision of faithfulness on an authentic
source.
Validity of information also refers to truth. Here, truth refers to whether each
statement in an argument is factually accurate and leads logically to the
conclusion. In checking validity in this context, the researcher has to satisfy the
following questions:
 Does information or source subscribe to and is it testable by the rules of
information accuracy?
 Is there untested traditional knowledge or uninformed bias in the
information?
 Is the information based on known, sufficient and representative facts?
Here are some characteristics to look for in valid argument information:
1. Information must be consistent or agree with what is generally known
about the subject matter.
2. Language of the argument must be internally consistent. There should be
no shifts in the meaning of key terms and concepts throughout.
3. Information should be sufficient or complete. It should be representative
and there should be a logical explanation in cases where there seems to be
contradiction in the data.
4. Information should be logical in sequence and relevant; premise should
logically lead to conclusion and both should relate to the same concept.
There should be no mixture of fact and opinion.
Points to Consider When Selecting A Sample
When a researcher undertakes a survey involving large numbers of people such
as in market surveys, public opinion polling or readership surveys it will be
impractical or even impossible to canvas the views of everyone in that
population. She has to ensure that she takes a sample of the total population
(which is a portion or fraction or subset of the total population). It is assumed
that the sample is homogenous and that the characteristics found in the sample
may reasonably be expected to be found in the whole. For this sample to
accurately reflect the opinions beliefs or choices of the population when
generalizations are to be made about the total population it must satisfy two
basic conditions:
 It must be adequate or sufficient; that is numerically large enough to
correctly reflect the views of the whole population. The larger sample
size the more accurate it is accepted that generalizations about the whole
is likely to be; and
 It must be representative; that is all segments of the population indicated
by relevant variables such as age, sex, social class, occupation etc. are to
be proportionately included in the sample.
There are two basic types of sampling: probability and non-probability:
Probability or Random Sampling:
The selection of a random sample is one way of ensuring that the sample is
representative of the population and ensuring that your research procedure has
validity (that is it actually measures in a scientific those qualities about the
population that it claims to measure). This type of sampling generally ensures
that no member of the sample is likely to be more preferred than another in the
selection. The selection cannot be predicted and each member of the sample has
the same chance of selection. In this way the researcher’s bias is eliminated and
the procedure becomes more consistent and efficient.
There are four types of probability sampling:
 Simple Random Sampling – each member of the sample has an equal
chance of selection but is removed from the pool once it has been
selected. This is known as sampling without replacement.
This procedure may also be done by replacing the selected item/member
in the pool before the next draw. This is known as unrestricted random
sampling or random sampling with replacement.
 Stratified Random Sampling – each sub-group within population
(determined by variables such as age, sex, religious affiliation, social
group etc is grouped and sampled separately and then put together to
make a stratified sample of that population.
This type of sampling is ideal in cases where the population has
significant heterogeneous characteristics even though they are part of the
homogenous group like a neighbourhood, constituency or parish. In
sampling each strata of population separately there is the advantages of
gaining more precise results, and saving time and resources by not
searching in the wider population for qualities peculiar to each strata.
 Systematic Random Sampling – the sample is selected by some pre-
arranged order or system. The order or system may already exist may
already exist in the population such as street numbers, lot numbers, and
the telephone directory or it may be an implied order such as date of
births.
For example, to select a minimum acceptable sample of ten percent of
one hundred houses in a housing scheme, every tenth house could be
selected.
The pre-determined manner of selecting this sample it might be difficult
to reduce bias.
 Cluster or Area Sampling – the sample is selected in two stages. First a
group or cluster of groups representing the population to be surveyed is
selected is selected. Second, a random sample is selected from the list of
people/items identified in the cluster groups.
Non-Probability Sampling
This category of sampling is sometimes called convenience sampling because it
is used when the total extent of population to be surveyed is not known. The
samples are not selected randomly but at the discretion of the researcher. As a
consequence the validity and absence of bias in using such sampling cannot be
guaranteed. The process is not as precise as random sampling. Results gathered
by using these types may not be said to be totally reliable. Their advantage to
the researcher is that it is inexpensive to conduct them and their use may save
time and resources.
Non-probability sampling includes:
 Accidental Sampling – the sample is drawn from people/items that are
readily available and convenient. The researcher using such a sample
cannot scientifically make generalizations about the total population from
this sample because it would not be representative enough. This type of
sampling is most useful for pilot testing.
 Judgemental Sampling – the researcher uses his knowledge of the
population to be surveyed or the knowledge of resource persons who are
also knowledgeable about the population to make a judgement as to
which members/items and how many in the population to be selected.
 Quota Sampling – the researcher uses his knowledge of the nature and
composition of the total population to decide which members and how
many from different strata of the population should be selected so that the
sample is representative of the population.
 Snowball Sampling – this is a two phase process. The first involves
identifying and selecting a few members in the target population with the
required information. In the second phase this small group is used to
contact others in the population who also possess the
information/qualities required by the researcher. The sample size will get
larger or snowball in the second phase.
 Dense Sampling – this involves selecting a sample size of half or more
of the total population. Such a method of sampling would be
impracticable for very large populations and would be both expensive and
a huge demand on the researcher’s time and resources. The larger the
sample size the more representative the sample is likely to be of the
population.
 Saturation Sampling – Strictly speaking this is not a type of sampling
for it does not involve a sub-set or portion of the target population but the
entire population. This sampling method would also be impractical for
large populations and would be expensive for the researcher. It would,
however, be very representative of the population.
 Sources:
Ian Boxill et al Introduction to Social Research, Canoe Press University of the West
Indies, Mona, Jamaica (1997), Chapter 4
Frank Tapson The Oxford Mathematics Study Dictionary, Oxford
University Press, Oxford (1996) p.97
Advantages and Disadvantages of Qualitative Research
Advantages
Qualitative research
 allows for in-depth assessment of issues being researched
 allows for investigation of highly sensitive issues
 allows for comprehensive subjective evaluation based on interpersonal
interaction over and extended period
 can be moderated regarding location, schedule, content, pace and
continuity, therefore allows flexibility
 can be applied to a number of fields of investigation
 can stand on its own and form complete data gathering techniques, or can
be used at different phases of an investigation
 allows for concurrent ‘observation’ by interested parties with input where
applicable
 can often be implemented without multiple human resources
 can offer particularly keen insight to the single researcher since he or she
can be involved in all phases of method
Disadvantages
Qualitative research
 relies primarily on subjective assessments in data collection phase
 allows limited extrapolation to the general population
 utilizes much smaller ‘sample’ units than quantitative techniques
 seems deceptively easy to organize, implement, analyze and report
 can be easily misused, misunderstood, due to relative naturalness of
methods
 can be costly on a per capita basis
 has a relative lack of formal theoretical and operational guidelines, which
limits the respectability afforded by its methods
 it is not yet well known and/or accepted as a bona fide, formal research
technique by the wider scientific community
The qualitative versus quantitative debate
The concept of comparative assessment had also been influential in the debate
regarding the virtues of qualitative versus quantitative methods of research.
Importantly, it is the end to which the method is being applied which needs to
drive the process used, for example ‘What are the objectives of the study?’
There are some basic and important differences between the two approaches.

Qualitative research
 cannot provide information about frequencies of occurrence, prevalence,
and so on. That is, it cannot answer the questions: ‘How much?’, ‘How
many?’, or ‘How often?’; these need to be answered by quantitative
research
 is not normative, and is not designed to provide information about
absolute trends within the population, but instead to provide in-depth
reports on individuals, small groups, and/or situations from or in which
population subjects are likely to be represented
 does not utilize highly structured schedules, for example questionnaires
for data collection
 relies on semi-structured and unstructured approaches to fieldwork,
which allow for the depth of information made available, and cater to the
spontaneity inherent in researcher, participants, and situations
 is flexible beyond the start of the process, with the possibility for making
and incorporating changes into the data collection process, analyses and
reporting formats, while retaining the ability to provide complete and
accurate outcome indicators
 relies on words
Quantitative research
 is based on norms within a given population, and the method assesses,
 predicts and reports on such indicators using statistical analyses related
mainly to rules of probability
 is a labour intensive method, requiring much human input in different
phases of implementation
 is relatively inflexible after the process has been initiated, with limited
options for change in structure, form, components, methodology, and so
on
 requires a structured scientific approach to design, data collection,
analyses, and reporting, with limited acceptability of artistic or literary
fluency
 relies on numbers
There is still much left to the debate, and it will continue for some time to
come. This is because qualitative research is still in a state of infancy.
 Regardless of the state of discussions, qualitative research methods are
being used and slowly developed as the need for such in-depth
information increases.
Qualitative Research Procedures
The actual process of conducting qualitative research is one which
eventually becomes easy – or rather, natural – as the researcher becomes
more skilled. One of the features of development includes the awareness
that each experience, for example, each focus group is a new entity, with
combined factors never being experienced in any other group. Therefore,
the researcher’s objectivity must always be maintained.
Qualitative research borders on the premises and practises of
psycho-therapy, counselling and social work procedures. One major
difference is the relative inability of researcher to heal and/or take
interventive action and/or offer therapeutic remedies. The intimate
situations in which the researcher is involved with the subject/participant
sometimes precipitate cathartic situations. It is a field in which
‘sensitivity’, ‘sympathy’ and ‘empathy’ are key to encouraging
disclosures.
TYPES OF RESEARCH
Experimental Research: This is the most conclusive of scientific methods. The
researcher actually establishes different treatments and the studies their effects.
The results of this type of research are likely to lead to the most clear-cut
interpretations.
Correlational Research: This type of research is done to determine
relationships among two or more variables and to explore their implications for
cause and effect. This type of research can help us make more intelligent
predictions. It seeks to investigate whether one or more relationships of some
type exist. The approach requires no manipulation or intervention on the part of
the researcher other than that required to administer the instrument(s) necessary
to collect the data required.
Casual Comparative Research: In casual comparative research, investigators
attempt to determine the causes for OR the consequences of differences that
already exist between or among groups of individuals. It is also referred to
sometimes as “ex post facto” (from the Latin for “after the fact”) research.
Survey Research: This type of research obtains data to determine specific
characteristics of a group. A descriptive survey involves asking the same set of
questions (often prepared in the form of a written questionnaire or ability test)
of a large number individuals either by mail, telephone or in person. When
answers to a set of questions are solicited in person, the research is called an
Interview. Responses are then tabulated and reported usually in the form of
frequencies or percentages of those who answer in a particular way to each of
the questions.
Content Analysis Research: This is a method that permits researchers to study
human behaviour unobtrusively – that is without being directly involved with
people or situations. Essentially it is a means of analyzing communications
(intended or not) that are inevitably present in anything human beings produce.
All human products, therefore offer potential materials for study. While most
such research involves an analysis of written documents (newspaper, policy
statements, magazines, diaries) some is conducted using films, folks songs,
ancient pottery and soon.
The major tasks of the researcher are to locate appropriate materials and then
find a way to analyze them.
Quality Research: Ethnographic Study: The emphasis of this type of research
is on documenting or portraying the everyday experiences of individuals by
observing interviewing them and relevant others.
Case Study: Sometimes much can be learned from studying just one individual,
one school or one school district: This is called a case study.
Historical Research: In this type of research some aspects of the part is
studied, either by pursuing documents of the period or by interviewing
individuals who lived during the time. An attempt is made to reconstruct as
accurately as possible what happened during that time and to explain why it did.
The major problems in historical research are making sure that the documents or
individuals really did come from (or live during) the period under study and
once this is established, ascertaining that what the documents or individuals say
is true.
Questionnaires
A questionnaire consists simply of a list of pre-set questions. In questionnaire
research the same questions are usually given to respondents in the same order
so that the information can be collected from every member of the sample.
Administering questionnaires
Questionnaires may be administered in a number of ways. Often they are given
to individuals by interviewers, in which case they take the form of structured
interviews.
1. Structured interviews have the advantage of having a trained
interviewer on hand to make sure that the questionnaire is completed
according to the instructions and to clarify any ambiguous questions. But
 questionnaires administered by interviews involve the problem of
interviewer bias. This means that the responses given are influenced by
the researcher. However, this method is expensive compared to the
following alternatives.
2. The postal questionnaire as its name suggests, is mailed to respondents
with a stamped address envelope for return to the researcher. It provides
an inexpensive way of gathering data, especially if respondents are
dispersed over a wide geographical area. The return rate though, does not
exceed 50 percent of the sample population and is sometimes below 25
percent. This may seriously bias the results since there may be systematic
differences between those who return questionnaires and those who do
not.
3. A second way, and one that obtains a far higher return rate, is when
questionnaires are administered to a group, such as a class of students
or workers at union meeting. This method is less expensive than dealing
with individual respondents while maintaining the advantages of presence
of an interviewer. However, the interviewer must ensure that respondents
do not discuss questions within the group since this might affect their
answers.
4. A third way of administering a questionnaire is to ask the questions over
the telephone. This is often done by market research firms of marketing
departments of companies, but it is usually regarded as satisfactory by
sociologists. Unless the researcher specifically wants a sample of people
who have a telephone, the sample is unlikely to be representative of the
population being studied.
Advantages of Questionnaires
The questionnaire is certainly a practical way to collect day. Although designing
the questionnaire and carrying out pilot studies may take some time, once in
use, questionnaires can be used to collect large quantities of data from
considerable numbers of people over a relatively short period of time.
Even when questionnaires are administered by interviewers this involves
relatively little personal involvement, or danger or sacrifice on the part of the
researcher when compared with some participant observation studies. The
results of questionnaire research can be relatively easily quantified, and with the
assistance of computers the data can be analyzed quickly and efficiently.
Questionnaires are effective when resources are limited and data are needed on
large numbers of people. They are particularly useful when straightforward
descriptive data are required.
Disadvantages of Questionnaires
 1. It cannot be assumed that different answers to the same question reflect
real differences between respondents. However much care is taken with
the wording of questions, respondents may interpret them differently.
People who choose the same response may not mean the same thing.
People who choose different responses may not mean different things.
This may result from the wording of the questions. Even common words
and phrases carry different associations for different groups. Thus a
questionnaire, which provides little opportunity to qualify meaning, might
not provide comparable data when administered to members of different
social groups.
2. In designing the questionnaire, researchers assume that they know what is
important. Respondents cannot provide information that is not requested,
they cannot answer questions that are not asked. For this reason, it is
difficult to develop hypotheses during the course of research and
researchers are limited to testing those theories that they have already
thought of.
3. Questionnaire research involves the operationalization of concepts. The
process of breaking down a concept so that it can be quantified imposes
sociological constructs, categories and logic of the social world.
4. The validity of the data may be reduced by the unwillingness or inability
of respondents to give full and accurate replies to questions. Quite
simply, respondents may lie. Even if respondents want to tell the truth
they may be unable to do so because of faulty memory or because they
lack the relevant information. Furthermore, even when respondents are
honest and not hampered by ignorance or forgetfulness, there are some
types of questions where the validity of the answers can still be queried.
This is particularly true of questions about attitudes. It cannot be assumed
that state attitudes will be translated into actual behaviour.
5. A fifth reason for doubting the validity of questionnaire data is the
distance maintained between the researcher and the subject of the
research, particularly in the case of postal questionnaires.
6. Finally, when open-ended questions are used, and the researcher requires
quantitative data, the coding of answers will take place. As in the
operationalization of concepts this involves researchers imposing their
own order to the data.
Interviews

Type of Interviews
Interviews take a number of forms depending upon how structured they are. A
completely structured interviewer who is not allowed to deviate in any form
from the questions provided.
In more unstructured interviews the conversation develops naturally, unless the
respondent fails to cover an area in which the researchers are interested.
Eventually the interviewer will direct the conversation back to the areas he or
she wishes to cover. Some interviewers have a schedule of topics they wish to
cover and they make sure that at some point the conversation comes back to
these topics.
Interviewing Styles
Having a conversation with somebody is extremely common in human
interaction, and it might be thought interviewing requires no special preparation.
However, the sociological researcher needs to overcome the problems of
making contact with - and gaining the cooperation of – respondents.
The most common way of conducting interviews is to be non directive: to
refrain from offering opinions, to avoid expressions of approval and
disapproval.
On certain occasions a more active and aggressive approach can provide much
fuller data. This involves the interviewer taking ‘positions on some issues’ and
using ‘more aggressive conversational tactics’.
Individual and Group Interviews
It is normal for a single interviewer to interview a single respondent. This has a
number of advantages. It may be easier to establish rapport, confidentiality can
be ensured, and the respondent is not distracted or influenced by the presence of
other interviewees. In some circumstances, though, sociologists have carried out
group interviews.
It can be argued that this might be more likely to produce valid data than a one-
to-one interview.
Group interviews are valuable because they ‘allow diverse categorizations and
sentiments to emerge, showing how participants flesh out, alter, or reconstruct
viewpoints in response to challenges’. They believe that having many voices
present broadens interviews and can make the participants more reflexive. They
think more deeply about their answers and reflect critically upon them in their
responses to others.
Advantages of Interviews
Interviews are seen as a useful research method by many different types of
sociologists. Compared to participant observation, interviews can utilize larger
samples, so generalizations are more justified. With some coding of responses it
is possible to produce statistical data from interviews and it is easier to replicate
the research and check results. Because there is usually some degree of structure
in an interview it is easier to make direct comparisons that it is by using data
from participant observation. The concepts and words used by interviewer and
interviewee alike can be clarified; the researchers’ concepts are less likely to be
imposed on the social world; issues can be explored in greater depth; and the
researcher does not limit the responses to fixed choices.
In short, interviews are far more flexible than any other research method. They
can be used to extract simple factual information from people. They can be used
to ask people about their attitudes, their past, present or future behaviour, their
motives, feelings and other emotions that cannot be observed directly.
Interviewers can explore each question or issue in as much depth or
superficiality as they wish. The range of information available from interviews
can be demonstrated from the following examples.
Interviews are often used to carry out research into groups who might not
otherwise consent to being the subject of research.
Interviews allow close collaboration between interviewer and interviewee so
that they can become partners in the research. Interviews allow the opportunity
for critical reflection by all those involved, so that they can examine and
sometimes change the perspectives through which they see the world.
Disadvantages of Interviews
1. The responses given may not be accurate and may not reflect real
behaviour. Respondents may life, may forget, or may lack the
information required. Even if respondents are not handicapped by
forgetfulness or ignorance, and have no wish to deceive, they may still
not give valid answers. As critics of questionnaire data have pointed out,
interviewees may not act in accordance with their stated beliefs. When
reflecting on past events they may alter their interpretation in the light of
subsequent experience.
2. Interviewees may also be influenced by the presence of the researcher.
The answers given may be influenced by the way the interviewees define
the situation.
A further problem with unstructured interviews is that there is more
opportunity for the interviewer (usually without realizing it) to direct the
interviewee towards giving certain types of response. Consciously or
unconsciously, respondents might give the sort of answers they believe
the interviewer wants to hear, rather than saying what they truly believe.
This problem is known as interviewer bias. It can never be totally
eliminated from interviewer research simply because interviews are
interaction situations.
3. In order to conduct an interview successfully and interpret the responses
correctly the interviewer must also be aware of the social conventions of
 those being interviewed. For example, certain activities may be regarded
as more ‘socially desirable’ by members of one group than by members
of another. As a result there may be differences between social groups in
terms of their members’ willingness to admit particular activities.
Observation and Participant Observation
What is Observation?
A method of data collection in which the researcher looks, records, analyzes
patterns of behaviour and trends in order to arrive at conclusions.
Researchers may decide to be an over participant observer, where they declare
their true identity and purpose, or a covert participant observer, where the fact
that they are a researcher is not revealed. Sometimes researchers choose to be
partially open but do not provide those being studied with the full story.
Some researchers strongly advocate being open from the start, arguing that it is
both morally and practically the best way to carry out participant observation.
The American sociologist Ned Polsky, suggests that it is morally correct to be
truthful, and the research can easily be ruined if the covert participant is
uncovered. Another advantage is that the open researcher may be able to avoid
participation in distasteful, immoral, or illegal behaviour.
Furthermore, the researcher is free to ask questions without arousing suspicion.
The knowledge that they are being observed can influence people’s behaviour
as they become more self-conscious and think about their actions.
An obvious advantage of covert participant observation is that the members of
the group being studied are not likely to change their behaviour as a result of
being studied, since they are kept in ignorance of the fact that they are being
observed for research purposes. Some studies may not be possible without
participant observation being covert, either because the group would change its
behaviour too much, or because the researcher would not be allowed to join in
the first place.
The Advantages of Participant Observation
1. It provides the best means of obtaining a valid picture of social reality.
Although participant observers begin the work with preconceived ideas
(for example, they will usually have studied the existing literature on the
topic to be investigated), at least they have the opportunity to directly
observe the social world.
2. In participant observation, it is also more difficult for the people being
studied to lie or mislead the researcher than it is in other research
methods. The researcher is on the spot and witnesses actual behaviour
rather than relying upon people’s accounts of their lives.
 3. Where researcher gains data from talking to those studied, the validity of
the data may be greater than in informal interviews.
4. Participant observation is particularly appropriate method for symbolic
interactionists because it allows an understanding of the world from the
subjective point of view of the subjects of the research. Because
researchers experience many of the same events as the observed, they are
better able to put themselves in their position and to understand why they
interact with others in particular ways.
5. Participant observation studies often carried out over an extended period
of time and it is therefore possible to study the process through which
changes happen.
6. An advantage of covert participant observation is that the members of the
group being studied are not likely to change their behaviour.
The Limitations and Disadvantages of Participant Observation

Participant observation has many practical advantages. It is often very time-

consuming. One spent four years studying juvenile justice in California. The
researcher can usually only study a very small group of people and has to be
physically present for the research to proceed. In personal terms such research
may be highly inconvenient and demanding. The researcher may be required to
move house, to live in an area they would not otherwise choose, and to mix with
people they would rather avoid. They may find it necessary to engage in
activities they dislike in order to fit in with the group, and they may even face
personal danger. There are also limits on who can be studied using this method.
First, to quantitative researchers, the samples used in participant observation are
too small and untypical for generalizations to be made on the basis of the
findings. Any conclusions can only apply to the specific group studied.
Second, such studies cannot be replicated, so results cannot be checked. It is
therefore difficult to compare the results with the findings of other studies.
The data from participant observation rely upon the particular interpretations of
a single individual, and are specific to a particular place and time.
The participant observer usually records only a small fraction of all possible
data that he or she could have used. The observer selects what to record and
what to omit and imposes framework upon the data in the process of
interpreting it.
A third theoretical objection is that the validity of the data is bound to be
affected by the presence of researcher, since the group being studied will not act
naturally. Participant observation is considered simply ‘unscientific.’ It is not
systematic or rigorous, its findings cannot be checked, the research cannot be
replicated, it is a subjective rather than objective research method.