Category Archives: participant observation

The strengths and limitations of covert participant observation

Posted on July 8, 2017 by

Covert participant observation or ethnography is where the researcher does not reveal that he is actually a researcher. There are different degrees to which ethnographic research may be covert – fully covert research is where every member of the group … Continue reading →

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Some (Relatively) Recent Examples of Participant Observation Studies

Posted on June 30, 2017 by

Participant observation is one the main research methods on the A level sociology syllabus, but many of the examples in the main text books are painfully out of date.  This post provides some more recent examples of research studies which … Continue reading →

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Participant Observation in Social Research

Posted on March 31, 2016 by

Participant Observation is where the researcher joins in with the group being studied and observes their behaviour. This post covers the theoretical, practical and ethical strengths and limitations of using overt and covert participant observation in social research. Participant observation … Continue reading →

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