Field Research

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Chapter 10

• Field Research

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Field research - observation of social behavior
in natural social settings

• Participant-observation the researcher
  participates in the events s/he is also
  observing.
• Qualitative (in-depth) interviewing relatively
  unstructured form of interviewing, which gives
  the interviewer and respondent considerable
  freedom to direct the flow of conversation.
• Focus groups - groups of subjects interviewed
  together, prompting a discussion.
• Ethnography methods of naturalistic
  observations aimed at the development of holistic
  understandings of cultures and subcultures.

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Examples of field research

• Randall Alfreds study of the Church of Satan
  (1976).
• Elliot Liebows study of low income African
  American men, reported in Tallys Corner (1967).
• Laud Humphreys study of homosexual encounters in
  public restrooms, reported in Tearoom Trade
  Impersonal Sex in Public Places (1970).

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Examples on the Internet

• Responses to HAART therapy in Italian families
  (see Methodology)
• HIV/AIDS in rural Uganda (see 1.3.2 Procedure)
• HIV prevention research, from Harvey Siegal at
  Wright State University
• CDC handbook for qualitative evaluation of HIV
  education
• Student reaction focus group guide

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Strengths of field research

• Development of a rich and deep understanding of
  social behavior
• Flexibility in research design
• Relatively low cost
• Validity in measurement of concepts
• Social behavior observed over time (longitudinal)
• Some social phenomena can only be understood in a
  natural setting.
• Examples
• Social interactions among members of juvenile
  gangs.
• Homosexual behavior in public restrooms
  (Humphreys)
• Social context of religious conversions at
  revival meetings

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Weaknesses of field research

• Poor method for describing a large population
• Unknown reliability of measurement
• Selective perception problem
• Problems with generalizability
• Typically can be argued on a theoretical level,
  but not established quantitatively
• Possibility of "going native"
• Possibility of changing the setting
• Ethical issues
• Example - complete participant (no informed
  consent)

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Decisions in participant observation

• 1. How will you prepare to go into the field?
• 2. How will you gain access to the setting?
• 3. Which research role will you adopt?
• 4. How will you maintain relationships in the
  setting?
• 5. Where, when, what, and who will you observe?
• 6. How will you record your observations from the
  setting?
• 7. Will you conduct qualitative interviews? If
  so, who will you interview and what methods will
  you use?
• 8. How will you handle data quality issues
  e.g., selective perception, reliability, going
  native, influence on the setting?
• 9. What potential ethical problems might arise,
  and how will you handle them? 
• 10. How will you process the massive amounts of
  data you collect?
• 11. How will you analyze your qualitative data?

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Decisions, 1-3

• 1. How will you prepare to go into the field? H
• Library research
• Use of informants
• 2. How will you gain access to the setting? H
• Initial contact
• 3. Which research role will you adopt? H
• a. Complete observer
• b. Participant-observer
• c. Complete participant

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Decisions, 3

• a. Complete observer observes a social process
  without becoming a part of it in any way
• b. Participant-observer observes a social
  process while participating in it and letting
  people know you are a researcher
• Use of participant observation by the World Bank
  in their contact with a wide variety of cultures.
  This page describes "beneficiary assessment."
• c. Complete participant observes a social
  process by being or pretending to be a genuine
  participant without letting people know you are a
  researcher
• Example "The Culture Of Military Organizations
  A Participant-Observer Case Study Of Cultural
  Diversity

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Decisions, 4-5

• 4. How will you maintain relationships in the
  setting?
• How will you manage ongoing social relationships
  with actors?
• Will you attempt to remain objective, or will you
  adopt the actors points of view as true?
• Symbolic realism treat the beliefs of actors as
  worthy of respect rather than as objects of
  ridicule.
• The Vulnerable Observer - should a participant
  observer even try to be objective?
• 5. Where, when, what, and who will you observe?
  H
• Even if you do not deliberately sample
  observations, you are in fact taking a sample of
  all possible observations that could be made in
  that situation.

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Decisions, 6

• 6. How will you record your observations from the
  setting? H
• Possible development of standardized recording
  forms in advance.
• Always record unanticipated events and aspects of
  the situation.
• Dont trust your memory any more than you have
  to. Record notes either in the field or as soon
  as possible after exiting. Elaborate on field
  notes by rewriting them as soon as possible after
  exiting.
• Record as much as you can, even though it may not
  seem important at the time.

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Decisions, 7

• 7. Will you conduct qualitative interviews? If
  so, who will you interview and what methods will
  you use? H
• Qualitative interview - an interaction between an
  interviewer and a respondent in which the
  interviewer has a general plan of inquiry, but
  not a specific set of questions that must be
  asked in particular words and in a particular
  order.
• Interviewing skills - of subtly directing the
  flow of conversation, being a good listener.
• Often helpful to adopt the role of socially
  acceptable incompetent - someone who does not
  understand the situation and who must be helped
  to grasp even the most basic and obvious aspects
  of the situation.

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Decisions, 8

• 8. How will you handle data quality issues
  e.g., selective perception, reliability, going
  native, influence on the setting?
• Sensitivity to the issue.
• Example - a proposed dissertation topic involving
  participant observation from a student and staff
  member at the Graduate School of Library and
  Information Science at the University of Texas,
  Austin
• Two additional suggestions
• augmenting your qualitative observations with
  quantitative ones
• seeking the opinions and observations of others
  to compare to your own (intersubjectivity).

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Decisions, 9

• 9. What potential ethical problems might arise,
  and how will you handle them? H
• Some common examples (e.g., Lofland, p. 307)
• Is it ethical to talk to people when they do not
  know you will be recording their words?
• Is it ethical to be in a setting or situation but
  not commit yourself wholeheartedly to it?
• Is it ethical to see a severe need for help and
  not respond to it directly?
• Is it ethical to conduct research on people but
  not reveal your role?

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Decisions, 10

• 10. How will you process the massive amounts of
  data you collect?
• Types of files to create
• Bibliographical file literature review notes
• Background file the history of the group and
  setting
• Biographical file key figures in the group
• Analytical files the important features of the
  group, the important aspects of what you observe

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Decisions, 11

• 11. How will you analyze your qualitative data?
• Use of computers in qualitative data analysis
• Word processing programs for copying,
  excerpting, and reorganizing your field notes
• Coding and qualitative analysis programs e.g.,
  Ethnograph, HyperRESEARCH
• Looking for patterns in your data (next slide)

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Decisions, 11

• Looking for patterns in your data
• Patterns include similarities (e.g., group norms,
  cultural universals) and differences (e.g.,
  non-normative behavior). 
• Major goal - develop a classification scheme of
  types of behaviors, interactions, processes,
  causes related to whatever it is that you have
  observed.
• Field researchers develop theories or
  generalized understandings over the course of
  their observations, e.g., grounded theory.
• Importance of introspection - examining your own
  thoughts and feelings in the attempt to
  understand what you have observed.

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Funding for field research

• Funding is available for graduate student
  projects. For example
• Dissertation research involving field research in
  another country - Social Science Research
  Council.