Tag: participant observation

  • Heidi Safia Mirza: Young Female and Black

    Young Female and Black is a research study of 198 young women and men who attended two comprehensive schools in London in the late 1980s. The main focus of the study is on 62 black women. The book was published in 1992. Mirza used a variety of research methods, but this is primarily an example of…

  • Cecile Wright: Racism in Multi-Ethnic Primary Schools

    This classic ethnographic study suggests that teacher stereotypes and labelling have a negative impact on Asian and Black Caribbean students in primary schools

  • The strengths and limitations of covert participant observation

    Covert Observation may be the only way you can gain access to deviant groups but there are SEVERAL limitations too…

  • Some (Relatively) Recent Examples of Participant Observation Studies

    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main research methods on the A level sociology syllabus, but many of the examples in the main text books are painfully out of date.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 employed participant observation as their main research method. Covert Participant Observation Pearson’s (2009) covert participant…

  • Sociological Research on Gangs

    In the aftermath of England’s ‘summer of violent disorder’ in 2011, the British Prime Minister David Cameron was unequivocal in apportioning blame: ‘At the heart of all the violence sits the issue of the street gangs. Territorial, hierarchical and incredibly violent, they are mostly composed of young boys, mainly from dysfunctional homes’. A few days…

  • Participant Observation – Essay Plan

    This question might come up on the theory and or methods sections of AQA A-level sociology papers 1 and 3. You might like to read my more detailed post on Participant Observation before reading the essay below, which should easily get you into the top mark band. For more information about the exams, please see…

  • Participant Observation in Social Research

    Participant Observation is a qualitative research method in which the researcher joins in with the group under investigation. This post explores the theoretical, practical and ethical advantages and disadvantages of participant observation

  • Participant Observation to Research Education

    Participant Observation studies are favoured by interpretivists as they allow for the collection of rich, qualitative data, and for an in-depth exploration of the thoughts and feelings of individuals involved. If done rigorously this is the best method for gaining an empathetic understanding with respondents, where we really see the world through their eyes. Practical…

  • Learning to Labour

    The counter school culture resisted the school but ultimately limited working class kids to getting working class jobs