CHAPTER 11 & 13
Limitations of focus group
- A "polarization effect" exists (attitudes become more extreme after group discussion) - Only one or a few topics can be discussed in one focus group session. -A moderator may unknowingly limit open, free expression of group members. -Focus groups can produce fewer ideas than individual interviews. -Focus group studies rarely report all details of study design/procedure. —Researchers cannot reconcile the differences that arise between individual-only and focus group-context responses.
Advantages of focus groups
-The natural setting allows people to express opinions and ideas freely. -Open expression among members of social groups who are marginalized is encouraged. -People tend to feel empowered, especially in action-oriented research projects. -It gives survey researchers a window into how people talk and think about topics -The interpretation of quantitative survey results is facilitated -Participants may query one another and explain their answers to one another.
Ethical dilemmas of field research
1. Covert Research: •This issue may arise if the research is covert and the researcher assumes a false role, name or identity •Although its moral status is questionable, there are some field sites or activities that can only be studied covertly. 2. Confidentiality: •The researcher learns intimate knowledge that is given in confidence. He or she has a moral obligation to uphold the confidentiality. •This includes even disguising members' names in field notes. 3. Involvement with Illegal Behavior: •Researchers who conduct field research on people who engage in illegal, immoral, or unethical behavior face additional dilemmas. •Guilty Knowledge: When a researcher learns of illegal, unethical, or immoral actions by the people in the field site that are not widely known. •The researcher faces a dilemma of building trust and rapport wit the members, yet not becoming so involved as to violate his or her basic personal moral standards. 4. The Powerful: •Many field researchers study those without power in society (street people, the poor, children, and lower level workers) •Elites are not studied often because they are in a position to block access and have effective gatekeepers. Because of this researchers are often criticized for ignoring the powerful. Hierarchy of Credibility: Situations in which a researcher who learns much about weaker members of society whose views are rarely heard is accused of "bias" while the views of powerful 5. Publishing Field Reports •The intimate knowledge you obtain and report creates a dilemma between the right of privacy and the right to know. •You cannot publicize member secrets, violate privacy, or harm reputations. Yet, if you cannot publish anything that might offend or harm someone, what you learned will remain hidden. •Some researchers suggest asking members to look at a report to verify its accuracy and to approve of their portrayal in print.
Problems with Validity:(LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING STATISTICS AND SECONDARY DATA)
1. Definitions don't match ●A researcher's definition of a construct does not match the definition used by the government agency or organization that collected the data. Example: ●Researcher's definition of unemployment: people who work if a good job were available, people who have to work part-time but want to work full-time, and those who have given up on looking for work. ●Official definition of unemployment: includes only those who are actively seeking work (full-time or part-time).
Cultural Knowledge includes: ( ethnography and ethnomethodology
1. Explicit knowledge: what we explicitly know and talk about. (ex. class meets on Tuesday, the Sociology Dept is located in Santa Susana, etc.) 2. Tacit knowledge: what we implicitly know but rarely acknowledge directly. It includes unspoken social norms.
Problems with Reliability (LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING STATISTICS AND SECONDARY DATA)
1. Official definitions or the method of collecting information changes over time. Example: ●In the 1980's the method for calculating the U.S. unemployment rate changed. ●Old method (# of unemployed persons/# of persons in civilian workforce). ●New method (# of unemployed persons/# of persons in civilian workforce and military).
Three Factors are relevant when choosing a field site Step 2: Choose a Field Site and Gain Access
1. Richness of Data •Your research question should guide you choosing your field site. •Sites that present a web of social relations, a variety of activities, and diverse events provide more interesting data. 2. Unfamiliarity •It is usually better for the beginning field researcher to choose an unfamiliar setting because it will be easier to see events and social relations through new eyes. •However the novice field researcher can be overwhelmed or intimidated by an entirely new site. •As you "case out" possible field sites, consider practical issues such as your time and skill, serious conflicts among people in the site, your personal characteristics and feelings, and access to parts of a site. 3. Suitability •Your ascriptive characteristics (age, sex, race, ethnicity, language, etc.) can limit access to some sites. Example: •An African American researcher can probably not study the Ku Klux Klan or neo-Nazis, although some researchers have successfully crossed ascriptive lines. •Sometimes "insider" and "outsider" teams can work together. •Physical access to a site can be an issue. It is easier to get access to public sites (public parks, restaurants, libraries, etc.) and more difficult to enter private settings (corporations, clubs, activities in a person's home).
Limitations (LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING STATISTICS AND SECONDARY DATA)
1. The secondary data or existing statistics may be inappropriate for your research question. Example: ●You want to examine racial-ethnic tensions between Hispanics and Whites across the U.S. but only have secondary data that includes states in the Western part of the U.S.
Problems with Reliability: (LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING STATISTICS AND SECONDARY DATA)
2. Equivalence reliability issues ●The researcher realizes the measure yields inconsistent results across different indicators. Example: ●A measure of crime across a nation depends on each police department providing accurate info. ●Studies of police departments suggest that political pressures to increase arrests (to show dept is tough on crime) or decrease arrests (to lower crime rates prior to an election).
Limitations (LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING STATISTICS AND SECONDARY DATA)
2. The researcher may not understand the topic well enough and interpret the data incorrectly. Example: ●The researcher uses data on high school graduation rates in Germany but does not know much about the German secondary education system and makes serious errors in interpreting the results.
Problems with Validity:(LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING STATISTICS AND SECONDARY DATA)
2.The researcher relies on official statistics as a proxy (replacement) for a construct and the official statistics have issues. Example: ●You want to know how many people are victims of hate crimes, so you use police statistics on hate crime as a proxy. ●This measure is not entirely valid because many victims do not report hate crime to the police. Official statistics do not always reveal all that occurred.
Limitations
3. Fallacy of misplaced concreteness: occurs when someone gives a false impression of precision by quoting statistics in more detail than warranted. Example: ●From GSS data you calculate the percentage of divorced people is 15.65495 in order appear more scientific. It is much better to report approximately 15.7% of the population is currently divorced.
Problems with Reliability: (LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING STATISTICS AND SECONDARY DATA)
3. Representative reliability issues. ●The researcher realizes that an indicator delivered inconsistent measures across a subpopulation. Example: ●The U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics found a 0.6 increase in female unemployment after it started using gender-neutral measurement procedures. ●Until the mid 1990's interviews commonly asked women if they had been "keeping house." If they responded "yes" they were recorded as housewives and not as part of the unemployed.
Problems with Validity: (LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING STATISTICS AND SECONDARY DATA)
3. The researcher lacks control over how the information was collected. Example: ●A university researcher re-examined the methods used by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and found an error. ●Data on permanent job losses came from a survey of 50,000 people, but the government agency failed to adjust for a high non-response rate. ●Corrected figures showed a decline in the number of people laid off between 1993-1996 when the original report showed no change.
Limitations
4. The researcher can not find the appropriate unit of analysis •A common problem in existing statistics is finding appropriate units of analysis. Many statistics are published for aggregates, not the individual. Example: ●The researcher's question is: are unemployed people more likely to commit property crimes? ●The potential for committing the ecological fallacy (using larger units of analysis to draw conclusions about smaller units of analysis) would occur in this situation.
MANIFEST CODING (QUANTITATIVE CODING)
A TYPE OF CODING
Attitude of Strangeness Step 3: Apply Strategies
A field research technique in which researchers mentally adjust to see events in the field as if for the first time (from an outsider's or stranger's point of view) •It means that the researcher questions and notices ordinary details and looks at things with fresh eyes. •It helps the researcher reveal aspects of the setting of which members are not aware. •The attitude of strangeness helps make the tacit culture visible.
Select a Field Site Step 2: Choose a Field Site and Gain Access
A field site is a natural location where a researcher conducts field research. •It is the place where events or activities occur, a socially defined territory with flexible and shifting boundaries. •The field site may involve several "physical sites" - (For example - a college football team may interact on the playing field, in the locker room, in a dormitory, at a training camp, or local hangout.)
Be Self-Aware Step 1: Prepare to Enter the Field
A good field researcher is a highly self aware person who can reflect on his or her personal experiences. •You can expect to feel anxiety, self-doubt, frustration, and uncertainty in the field. •You may feel like an outsider in the field setting. •Your emotional makeup, personal biography, and cultural experiences are very relevant in field research. •Know your limitations.
Focus group
A group of people informally interviewed in a discussion setting that is participating in a qualitative research technique. •The researcher gathers together 6-12 people in a room with a moderator to discuss issues, generally for about 90 minutes. •The moderator is trained to be non-directive and to facilitate free, open discussion by all group members. •Group membership should be homogeneous but not include close friends and relatives. Examples of Focus Group Topics •Race relations •Workplace equality •A new product •Political candidate
Structured Observation: (MEASUREMENT AND CODING)
A method of watching what is happening in a social setting that is highly organized and follows systematic rules for observation and documentation. In this case of course the
Social Indicators:
A quantitative measure of social well-being that can inform policy decisions. Many specific indicators can measure social well-being related to: population, family, housing, social security, welfare, health and nutrition, public safety, education and training, work, income, culture and leisure, social mobility, voting, etc.
breaching experiments
A research technique by which a field researcher intentionally breaks social rules and patterns of behavior to reveal aspects about social meanings and relationships. •The breach usually elicits a powerful social response (people become anxious, confused, laugh nervously, or express irritation and anger)
Coding System (MEASUREMENT AND CODING)
A set of instructions or rules used in content analysis to explain how a researcher systematically converted the symbolic content from text into quantitative data.
Ethnomethodology
A social science approach that studies commonsense knowledge. •This approach was established and developed in the 1960's by sociologist at UCLA, Harold Garfinkel. •It involves the specialized highly detailed analysis of micro- situations (including conversation analysis) •Ethnomethodologists wish to reveal the unspoken rules that we follow but are not consciously aware of in daily life.
Content Analysis:
A technique for gathering and analyzing the content of text (words, meanings, pictures, symbols, ideas, themes, or any message that can be communicated). Examples: books, newspaper or magazine articles, advertisements, speeches, official documents, films/videos/TV, musical lyrics, photographs, articles of clothing, web sites, works of art, etc. ●Content analysis has been used for a century in many fields: education, history, journalism, literature, political science, psychology, sociology.
Normalize Social Research step 3: apply strategies
A technique in field research that attempts to make the people being studied feel more comfortable with the research and to help them accept the researchers presence. •A field researcher is not only observing others in the field he/she is being observed by members in the field. •Most people are unfamiliar with field research and fail to distinguish between sociologists, psychologists, counselors, social workers, journalists, and even law enforcement. •You can help members "normalize" field research by presenting your own biography, explaining field research a little at a time, appearing nonthreatening, or accepting deviance. •Sometimes members' excitement about being written up in a book is useful for normalizing the research process.
Latent Coding (Qualitative Coding)
A type of coding in which a researcher identifies subjective meaning such as themes or motifs and then systematically locates them in a communication medium. Example: A researcher examines websites dedicated to covering foreign political issues and identify themes, images, symbolic meanings.
Reactive Research:
A type of social research in which people are aware that they are being studied.
Non-Reactive Research
A type of social research in which people being studied are unaware that they are being studied.
Members
A word used in field research to describe the people who are being studied.
Physical Traces ( NON REACTIVE RESEARCH)
Accretion Measures: Non reactive measure of the residue of the activity of people or what they leave behind. Example: Studying photographs that have been left behind from certain historical eras to see how gender relations within the family are reflected in seating patterns. Example: Urban anthropologists have examined the contents of garbage dumps to learn about lifestyles from what is thrown away (liquor bottles indicate the level of
Informants
An informant in field research is a member with whom a field researcher develops a relationship and who tells about, or informs on, the field. The Ideal Field Research Informant •The person who is totally familiar with the culture and is in a position to witness significant events. He or she lives and breathes the culture and engages in routines in the setting without thinking about them. •The individual is currently involved in the field. Former members who have reflected on the field may provide useful insights, but the longer they have been away from direct involvement the more likely it is that they have reconstructed their recollections. •The person can spend time with the researcher. Interviewing may take many hours, and some members are simply not available for extensive interviewing. •Non-analytic individuals make better informants. A non-analytic informant is familiar with the uses and native folk theory or pragmatic common sense. This is in contrast to the analytic member who pre-analyzes the setting using categories from the media or education.
What was the first academic discipline to conduct field research?
Anthropology
Paper interested Step 4: Maintaining Relations in the Field
Appear Interested •It is important for researchers to maintain an appearance of interest in the field, even if he or she is not truly interested in everything that is going on in the field. •When you appear uninterested you are sending a message that the members are dull, boring people, which is not a good way to build trust, intimacy, and social bonds. Selective Inattention •It is also important to practice selective inattention - not staring or appear to notice something awkward, is also part of being polite. •If a person makes a social mistake the researcher should ignore it. Be the Acceptable Incompetent •An acceptable incompetent is a friend but naïve outsider who is interested in learning about the social life of the field. The members accept the researcher as a nonthreatening person who
Build Rapport Step 2: Choose a Field Site and Gain Access
Build Rapport •Begin to build rapport as soon as you enter the field. •The researcher should forge friendly relationships, share the same language, and learn to laugh and cry with members. •Doing these things is a step toward obtaining an understanding of members and moving beyond understanding toward empathy (seeing things from another's perspective). Problems Building Rapport •A setting may provoke fear, tension, and conflict. •Members may be unpleasant, untrustworthy, or untruthful; they may do things that disturb or disgust you.
Examples of Presentation of Self in Field
Carol Stack (1989) - All Our Kin: Strategies for Survival in a Black Community •As a White woman studying a low-income Black community, she began her research as an outsider, however members eventually accepted her into a kin-like relationship calling her "White Caroline." •The researcher performed small favors, such as driving people to the hospital or welfare office, shopping and visiting sick children. •Her openness and willingness to share personal feelings helped the researcher to be accepted by the community Elijah Anderson (1989) - A Place on the Corner •Elijah Anderson conducted field research in a corner bar on the south side of Chicago. Although he was African American, like the people who hung out at the bar, he did
Field Studies of the 1890's:
Charles Booth and Beatrice Webb used both survey research and field research to study poor people in London. They directly observed people in natural settings. •Paul Gohre worked and lived as a factory apprentice for 3 months and took detailed notes home each night to study. He is thought to be the first researcher to use the technique of participant observation.
Junker (1960) describes four researcher roles Step 2: Choose a Field Site and Gain Access
Complete observer: The researcher is behind a one-way mirror or taking on an "invisible role" such as an eavesdropper. •Observer as participant: The researcher is known from the beginning but has limited contact with members in the field. Example - Someone sits in a public court house and observes the trials. •Participant as observer: The researcher is overt about the research and becomes friends with the participants. Example - A researcher studies a student organization on a college campus. •Complete Participant: The researcher becomes a member of the group/community/organization, and shares
NON-REACTIVE RESEARCH
Content Analysis ●Analysis of existing statistics (ex. crime statistics, birth, death, marriage records, labor statistics, etc.) ●Secondary Data Analysis: when researchers analyze survey data collected by another researcher (ex. General Social Survey data) ●Historical Comparative Research: when researchers compare entire cultures or societies to learn about macro patterns and long term trends ●Field Research (in cases where the researcher only makes observations)
descriptive questions ( types of question in research interviews)
Descriptive questions allow the researcher to explore the setting and learn about members. •Time and Space - "Where is the bathroom?" "When does the delivery truck arrive?" "What happened Monday night?" •People and Activities - "Who is sitting by the window?" "What is your uncle like?" •Objects - "What do you carry with you on an emergency water leak job?" "When do you use a saber saw?" •Examples or Experiences - "Could you give me an example?" "What were your experiences as a chef?"
notebook
Doing research involving existing statistics does not simply mean that you go look up a statistic. Instead it means that researchers use existing statistics and documents in a new and
Adopt a Level of Involvement Step 2: Choose a Field Site and Gain Access
Each level of involvement has its advantages and disadvantages at both ends of the spectrum Complete Member •Supporters of this position argue that the complete member role is the only way to understand the social world of members. •A role at the insider end of the continuum facilitates empathy and sharing a member's lived experience. •Critics argue that the researcher loses his/her perspective by becoming over- involved. Removed Outsider •Supporters of this role note that it reduces the time needed for acceptance, makes building rapport less of an issue, and can sometimes help members open up. •Critics argue that the role facilitates detachment and protects the researcher's self-identity.
Intercoder Reliability:
Equivalence reliability in content analysis which identifies the degree of consistency among coders using a statistical coefficient (Krippendorff's Alpha)
Physical Traces ( NON-REACTIVE RESEARCH)
Erosion Measures: Non reactive measure of the wear or deterioration on surfaces due to the activity of people. Example: A researcher examines children's toys at a day care that were purchased at the same time. Worn-out toys suggest greater interest by the children. Example: Researchers have measured interest in different museum exhibits by noting worn tiles on the floor in different parts of the museum.
Ethno
Ethno -Means folk graphy- means writing about or describing something
Two extensions of field research:
Ethnography 2. Ethnomethodology •Both build on the social constructionist perspective •They both study cultural knowledge
13 th century Field research
European explorers and missionaries wrote descriptions of the "strange" cultures and peoples they encountered during their travels. Example: In 1271 at the age of 17, Marco Polo left the Venetian Republic and went to China. He found an advanced society - paper money, books on religion and philosophy, black stones (coal) being used for fuel, and an abundance of jade, porcelain, silk, and ivory. He also described how clothing and ornaments at the Emperor's birthday festival were sewn with gold thread. Returning to Europe in 1295 many of his stories were rejected and he became the "man of a million lies."
Negotiate Step 3: Apply Strategies
Expect to negotiate and explain what you are doing over and over again in the field. •People who are marginalized, those engaged in illegal or illicit activities, and those who are elites often require more intense negotiations to increase access. •Use background, personal ties, or willingness to live among the members as a means for gaining access. Examples: Harper, Douglas (1982) Good Company: A Tramp's Life •The researcher gained access by living in a skid row mission without any money and befriending homeless men who knew street life. McDermott, Monica (2006) Working class white: The making and unmaking of race relations. •The researcher was able to gain quick access to participants because she was herself White, from the South, understood the accent, and had even worked as a convenience store clerk when she was younger.
Observation (NON REACTIVE RESEARCH)
External Appearance: A research watches students to see whether they are more likely to wear their school's colors and symbols after the school team has won or lost. ●Count Behaviors: A researcher counts the number of men and women who come to a full stop at a stop sign, and those who come to a rolling stop. This may suggest gender differences in driving. ●Time Duration: A researcher can measure how long men and women pause in front of a painting
jotted notes
Field notes inconspicuously written while in the field site on what is convenient in order to "jog the memory" later. •The researcher may excuse him or herself to the restroom or another area and jot down a few things •In the "old days" researchers used to write things down on a napkin or matchbook. Today researchers can type a few words into their phone's "notebook" to remember later. •Researchers later incorporate jotted notes into their direct observation notes.
Direct observant notes
Field notes that the researcher writes up immediately after leaving the field. •The researcher should order the notes chronologically with the date, time, and place written on each entry. •These notes serve as a detailed description of what you heard and saw in very concrete and specific terms. •Memory improves with practice and researchers can often remember exact phrases from the field. •Nonverbal communication, tone, speed, volume, gestures, etc. should also be recorded in the direct observation notes.
Coping with Stress Step 3: Apply Strategies
Field research can be highly rewarding, exciting and fulfilling but it also can be difficult, uncomfortable, embarrassing, and stressful. Sometimes the loneliness and isolation of fieldwork may combine with the desire to develop rapport and empathy and cause over involvement in the field site and "go native." Ways to Cope with Stress: •Keep a personal diary, emotional journal, or written record of inner feelings. •Have a few sympathetic people outside the field site in whom you can confide.
Field Research after WWII ( field research )
Field research faced competition from survey and quantitative research and declines as a proportion of all social research. 1970's-1980's •Field research began to borrow and adapt ideas and techniques from cognitive psychology, cultural anthropology, folklore, and linguistics. •Field researchers re-examined the epistemological roots and philosophical assumptions of social science to elaborate on qualitative methods. 1980's - Today •Field researchers continue to directly observe and interact with members in natural settings to acquire an "inside" perspective. •Many of these researchers embrace an activist or social constructionist perspective. •The field researcher is more than a passive or neutral person gathering data, they must become self-aware (self-reflective) about their presence in the field.
Step 6 exit the field site
Field researcher can last from a few weeks to over ten years. •Once you decide to leave because the project reaches a natural end and little new is being learned or because external factors for you to end the project (gatekeepers order you out, end of a job, start of a new job, etc.) •The researcher should fulfill any bargains or commitments that were made and leave with a clean slate. •Some members may feel hurt or rejected because a close social relationship is ending. They may try to pull you back or become cool and distant because you are leaving.
Naturalism ( field research)
Field researchers draw on a wide array of specific techniques. •A field researcher is a resourceful, talented individual with ingenuity and the ability to think on her or his feet while in the field. •To understand social life we must include all perspectives (both insider and outsider points of view)
The Logic of Field Research
Field researchers draw on a wide array of specific techniques. •A field researcher is a resourceful, talented individual with ingenuity and the ability to think on her or his feet while in the field. •To understand social life we must include all perspectives (both insider and outsider points of view) Field researchers must try to get "insider" viewpoint from the perspective of the people in the field, and then switch back to an "outsider" or research viewpoint. •Fieldwork means involvement and detachment, both loyalty and betrayal both openness and secrecy, and most likely love and hate. •Field research can be fun and exciting, but it can also disrupt your personal life, physical security, or mental well-being. •A study may require hundreds, if not thousands of hours in direct observation and interaction over several months or years.
Enter and Gain Access Step 2: Choose a Field Site and Gain Access
Field sites usually have different levels or areas. Entry is more analogous to peeling the layers of an onion than to opening a door. •You need fallback plans or may have to return later for renegotiation. Acess Ladder: Field researchers may be able to see and learn about public, non-controversial events in the beginning, but with time and effort, they can gain entry to more hidden, intimate and controversial information.
Staying Safe in Unsafe Settings Step 2: Choose a Field Site and Gain Access
First impressions matter; adopt a personal style and demeanor appropriate to the setting. •Learn "street life" and fit in; do not dress or act too much like an outsider. •Explain yourself, who you are, and why you are there. •Scan the physical environment for obvious signs of danger. •Stay alert and be prepared to respond quickly to potentially dangerous circumstances (paranoia, sexual approaches, robbery, theft, shootings, police raids, and arrests). •Develop an assertive, confident mind set and do not act like a victim; overly fearful behavior can invite aggression. •Acquire a "sixth sense" and use prudence or common sense for changing conditions. Keep some money hidden for an emergency. •Develop a "safety zone" of people whom you trust and feel comfortable with and who accept you. •If feeling discomfort, leave the setting and return another time.
How to Conduct a Content Analysis Study
Formulate the research questions •Decide on units of analysis •Develop a sampling plan •Construct coding categories and a recording sheet •Coding and intercoder reliability check •Data collection and analysis
Example of breaching experiment
Garfinkel sent his students to nearby stores. •He told them to "mistake" other customers for salesclerks. Question: How do you think the customers reacted after the students persisted in the misinterpretation? •Many bewildered customers accepted the new definition of the situation and awkwardly tried to fill the salesperson role •Other customers "blew up" and "lost their cool." Filmmakers use the effect of "breaching" social norms for comic effect. •For example they have people from different cultures who do not share the same tacit unspoken rules for proper behavior violate social norms.
The National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago
Has collected data for the General Social Survey (GSS) almost every year since 1972. ●Researchers survey a representative sample of 1,500 U.S. residents. ●Face-to-face survey interviews are conducted in people's homes. ●The NORC staff carefully select and recruit a diverse group of interviewers. ●Interviewers are race-matched with respondents. ●Interviews contain 500 questions and last 90 min. ●The GSS datasets are publically available for free.
Adjust and Adapt Step 4: Maintaining Relations in the Field
If you develop close friends in the field, they can become allies who will defend your presence and help you gain further access. •Researchers should monitor how their actions or appearance affects members. •Example: a physically attractive researcher may encounter crushes, flirting, and jealousy. •In addition to developing relationships, researchers must be able to break ties with some members to forge new ties with others, or explore other aspects of the setting. •As with any relationship, the emotional pain of social withdrawal can affect both the researcher and the member. You must balance social sensitivity and research goals.
Robert E. Park ( field Research)
In 1916 he created a research program for the social investigation of the city of Chicago. •He urged researchers to leave the libraries and "get their hands dirty" by making direct observations and listening to conversations on street corners, in barrooms, and in luxury hotel lobbies.
Field research interview
In addition to observing and taking notes, field researchers conduct interviews with members. Field research interviews go by many names: •Unstructured interviews •In-depth interviews •Ethnographic interviews •Open ended interviews •Informal interviews •Long interviews •Field interviews occur in a series over time. After building trust and rapport you may be able to probe further in these interviews. Markers: A passing reference by a person in a field interview that actually indicates a very important event or feeling.
Be flexible Step 1 prepare to enter the field
In field research you will not follow a clearly laid-out, preset, fixed steps. •At the beginning you should expect little control over the data. •You should be prepared to shift directions and follow leads as needed, learn to recognize and seize opportunities. •Learn to be open to discovering new ideas.
Focus and Sample Step 3: Apply Strategies
In the field you first acquire a general picture and then you focus on a few specific problems or issues. You can decide on specific research questions only after experiencing the field firsthand. Sampling Techniques Commonly used in Field Research: 1. Snowball Sampling: beginning with one case (person) and then being referred to other cases (people). 2. Theoretical Sampling: developing theory and sampling times, situations, types of events, locations, types of people, or contexts of interest.
Reliability in field research
Internal Consistency: refers to whether the data re plausible given all that is known about a person or event. •Do the pieces fit together into a coherent picture? •Are the member's social actions consistent over time and in different social contexts? External Consistency: is achieved by verifying or cross-checking observations with other, divergent sources of data. •Can others verify what a researcher observed about a person? •Does other evidence confirm the researcher's observations? Obstacles to Reliability •Misinformation - an unintended falsehood •Evasions - not answering questions, switching topics, answering purposely in a
Theoretical sampling step 3
It is important for researchers to: •sample different times - (morning, afternoon, evening), days of the week, seasons of the year gives the researcher a full sense of how the field site says the same or changes. •sample different locations - hanging out and observing people in different locations helps the researcher get a sense of the whole site. •sample different people in the field - oldtimers, newcomers, old and young, females, and males, leaders and followers. •sample different events in the field - routine, special, unanticipated, etc.
The Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) at the University of Michigan
It is the world's major archive of survey research data with over 17,000 data sets. ●Data sets are made available to researchers at modest costs.
Example of study
Lieberson et al (2000): The instability of androgynous names: The symbolic maintenance of gender boundaries ●An androgynous first name is one that can be for either a girl or boy without clearly marking the child's gender. Some argue the feminist movement decreased gender marking in a child's name. ●Researchers examined existing statistical data in the form of computerized records from the birth certificates of 11 million births of White children in Illinois from 1916-1989.
Danger and risk in field settings Step 2: Choose a Field Site and Gain Access
Louise Westmarland (2000) - Taking the flak: Operational policing, fear, and violence. •She argues that a field researcher can acquire police officers' viewpoints only by putting on a safety vest while rushing to the scene of violent crime and then dodging bullets along with them. Other Risks: •In addition to physical injury, researchers can face legal or financial risks and damage their professional reputations. •Research into some settings (e.g. mental hospitals, trauma centers, war zones, gang territory, etc.) may create emotional-psychological discomfort and damage a researcher's sense of well-being.
Gatekeepers Step 2: Choose a Field Site and Gain Access
Most field sites have gatekeepers - people with the formal or informal authority to control access to the field site. •It can be an administrator at a hospital, or the owner of a business. •You should expect to negotiate with gatekeepers and bargain for access. •If there are restrictions initially, reopen negotiations at a later time. •To one degree or another, the ethnographer will be channeled in line with existing networks of friendship and enemy territory.
Analytic Memos
Notes the researcher takes while developing more abstract ideas or themes from an examination of the details of the data. •In carefully reviewing both the direct notes and the inference notes, the researcher expands and elaborates on theoretical ideas that have emerged during the research process in his or her analytical memos.
Things Field Researchers Do:
Observe ordinary events and everyday activities as they happen in natural settings •Become directly involved with the people being studied and personally experience the process of daily social life in the field setting •Acquire an insider's point of view while maintaining the analytic perspective or distance of an outsider. •Use a variety of techniques and social skills in a flexible manner as the situation demands. •Produce data in the form of extensive written notes, as well as diagrams, maps, or pictures to provide detailed descriptions - produce data in the form of extensive written nots as well as diagrams , maps, or pictures providing descriptions
ethical concerns
Official statistics being used as social and political products (for both progressive and conservative causes). Example: Official statistics collected by the government can stimulate public attention. Political activism can also lead government to collect data. ●Drunk driving became a public issue only after government agencies began collecting statistics on the number of automobile accidents in which alcohol was a factor. ●Activism pushed for data on then number of patients who die in public mental hospitals to be collected
Varieties of Nonreactive (Unobtrusive Measures)
Physical Traces ●Erosion Measures ●Accretion Measures 2. Archives ●Public Records ●Diaries, Letters, Correspondence ●Photographs 3. Observation ●External Appearance ●Count Behaviors
Archives ( NON REACTIVE RESEARCH)
Public Records: A researcher can examine marriage records for the bride and groom's ages, birth and death rates, tax registries, average home prices, etc. ●Diaries: A researcher can go back and look at personal diaries, letters, correspondence, logs of family owned business, to see what life was like during a particular historical era. ●Photographs: A researcher can examine photographs to determine popular style of dress, gender relations, role of children, lifestyle, etc.
The Chicago school ( field research)
Refers to the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago. •It was the first place in the U.S. where field research was conducted.
Perform small favors, avoid conflict Step 4: Maintaining Relations in the Field
Relationships of exchange (give and take) develop in the field where small tokens or favors, including deference and respect, are exchanged. •Small favors could include buying someone a cup of coffee, driving them somewhere, helping them seek out needed services, or volunteering in their organization. Avoid Conflicts •Fights, conflict, and disagreements can erupt in the field or you may study groups with opposing positions. •In these situations you will feel pressure to take sides and may be tested to see whether you can be trusted. It is always best to stay neutral, although some people say that it is not entirely possible.
Interview context
Researchers must recognize that a conversation in a private office may not occur in a crowded lunchroom. •Often interviews take place in the informants home environment so that he or she can feel comfortable. •However if an informant is preoccupied or there is no privacy, the researcher should move the informant to another setting (university office, quiet restaurant, park bench, etc.) •Meaning in an interview is shaped by its Gestalt (the entire interaction of the researcher and informant in a specific context). •Non-verbal forms of communication (shrugs, gestures, body movements) should also be noted.
Presentation of Self Step 3: Apply Strategies
Researchers should be very conscious of how they present themselves in the field. •Do not overdress in a manner that offends or stands out. •Copying the dress of the people you study is not always necessary. ●-For example a professor who studies homeless people should not dress like one. ●-Similarly, if you are doing research on members of gangs, it would be foolish to try to dress like a member. ●-Those doing research in professional settings however should dress in a formal manner.
Maps, Diagrams and Artifacts
Researchers sometimes make maps, draw diagrams or pictures of the field site. Types of Maps •Spatial Map: locates people, buildings, room layout, etc.
Chicago School Phase I (1910-1940) ( field research)
Researchers used a variety of methods - case study (life history approach), direct observation, informal interviews, reading documents and official records. Early field research blended journalistic and anthropological techniques •Getting behind the scenes •Using informants •Remaining with a small group for an extended time •Conducting detailed observations •Exposing what is "really happening" Examples of Phase I Studies •The Hobo (1923) - Nels Anderson •The Jack Roller (1930) - Clifford R. Shaw •The Gang (1927) - Frederic Thrasher •The Taxi-Dance Hall (1932) - Paul Goalby Cressey
Chicago School Phase II (field research)
Scholars developed participant observation as a distinct technique. Three principles emerged: 1. Study people in their natural settings. 2. Study people by directly interacting with them repeatedly over time. 3. Develop broad theoretical insights based on an in-depth understanding of members' perspectives of the social world. Examples of Phase II Studies: Street Corner Society: The Social Structure of an Italian Slum (1943) William Foote Whyte Outsiders: Stories in the Sociology of Deviance (1963) - Howard Becker Tally's Corner: A Study of Negro Streetcorner Men (1967), Elliot Liebow Tearoom Trade: Impersonal sex in public places (1970) - Laud Humphreys
Steps in field research
Step 1: Prepare to Enter the Field Step 2: Choose a Field Site and Gain Access Step 3: Apply Strategies Step 4: Maintaining Relations in the Field Step 5: Gather and Record Data Step 6: Exit the Field Site
Structural Questions
Structural questions are used after the field researcher has spent time in the field and started analyzing data. Structural questions help the researcher organize events, situations, and conversations into categories. Example: •A field researcher's observations of a highway truck-stop restaurant revealed that the employees informally classify customers who patronize the truck stop. •In preliminary analysis the researcher creates a conceptual category "kinds of customers" and then talks to members using structural questions to verify the types. •"Are there any types of customers other than the regulars, greasers, pit stoppers, and long haulers?" •"Is the greaser a type of customer that you serve?" •"Would a pit-stopper ever eat a three-course dinner?"
Reliability of Latent Coding
Tends to be lower since it depends on the coder's knowledge of language, image, social meaning
Social Breakdown Step 3: apply strategies
The failure of social rules and patterns of behavior in a field site to operate as expected, revealing a great deal about social meanings and relationships. •Social breakdowns commonly occur when two culture traditions fail to mesh. •Social breakdowns often produce embarrassment because the mismatch of cultural meanings often cases a person to look foolish, ignorant, or uninformed. Example: You are invited to a party that begins at 8:00pm. You show up at 8:30pm in jeans and a t-shit. When the door opens and you enter, you are shocked to see everyone else in formal attire at a dinner table, having already started 30 minutes earlier. The social breakdown makes explicit the unspoken social rules that "everyone knows."
Record what is said and what is impliedStep 5: Gather and Record Data
The field researcher should listen for phrases, accents, and even incorrect grammar. •People who interact with each other over a period of time develop shared symbols and terminology, create new words or assign new meanings to ordinary words. Argot: The special language or terminology used by the members of a subculture or group who interact regularly. •Field researchers should learn this specialized language and other symbols used by the group. The field researcher translates back and forth between the field argot and the outside world. Can you think of any examples of argot used by specific groups?
18th Century Field research
The first anthropologists only read the reports of explorers, government officials, or missionaries and did not have direct contact with the people they studied. •These reports were often limited by the fact that travelers rarely spoke the local language and relied to interpreters. •Many of these travel reports were ethnocentric and focused on the exotic
Inferences (MEASUREMENT AND CODING)
The inferences a researcher can make based on the results is critical. In content analysis, inferences cannot reveal the intentions of those who created the text or the effects that messages have on those who receive them. Example: ●A content analysis shows that children's books contain gender stereotypes. ●That does not necessarily mean that the stereotypes in the books shape the beliefs or behaviors of children; you would need a
Defocus Step 1: Prepare to Enter the Field
The researcher must begin by emptying her or his mind of preconceptions and take a broad view rather than focusing narrowly. •Defocusing means consciously beginning fresh, highly aware, and curious, unburdened by assumptions and prejudgments. oCast a wide net in order to witness a broad range of situations, people, and settings. oGo beyond the narrow researcher role and don't restrict yourself exclusively to being a researcher
Decide on disclosure Step 3: Apply Strategies
The researcher must decide how much to reveal about him/herself and the research project along a continuum. Covert Research Completely Open Research No one in the field is aware Everyone knows the specifics of the that the research is taking place. research project. •Disclosing your personal life, hobbies, interests, and background can build trust and close relationships, but you can also lose privacy. •It is usually best to disclose the purpose of the research to those in the field unless there is a very good reason for not doing so. Example: McDermott (2006) - When she was working at the convenient store she developed a cover story, telling people she wanted to study the effects of economic restructuring on working people and did not reveal that her real interest was in racial attitudes. She later debriefed people she worked with about the true purpose of the study.
Field Research
The study of people acting in the natural courses of their daily lives. The fieldworker ventures into the worlds of others in order to learn firsthand about how they live, how they talk and behave, and what captivates and distresses them. It is a type of qualitative research •It involves "hanging out" with people •Field research can be fascinating, revealing accounts of unfamiliar social worlds (Ex. nude beaches, street gangs, police squads emergency rooms, artist colonies, etc.) Field research is appropriate when we want to learn about, understand, or describe a group of interacting people. •Most field research studies focus on a particular setting ranging from a small group of people to entire communities. •Beginning field researchers should start with a relatively small group (street corner, church, barroom, beauty salon, baseball field, etc.)
Interview Notes
These are notes taken on field interviews that you have already conducted with members. These notes are separate from the actual interview data. •Face Sheet: A page at the beginning of the interview with information on the date, place of observations, interviews, the context, etc. •The face sheet helps the researcher make sense of the notes when reading them later on.
Inference notes
These are notes that include what the researcher inferred from the situation (or figured out) after reading over and analyzing the direct observation notes. •The inference notes should be in a separate section or separate document from the direct observation notes. Example: •A researcher reads over his/her direct observation notes which indicate that Michael started yelling and using obscenities directed at the restaurant manager. Michael had a red face, raised voice, and wild gestures. •The researcher could draw the following inference from those notes - Michael was angry and outraged.
Personal notes
These are notes that the researcher takes about his or her own emotional reactions and feelings about the field research. •Researchers often keep a separate section of notes that are like a personal diary. For example they may write - "I'm tense today," "I have a headache," "I wonder if it is because I had an argument with..."
Contrast Questions
These questions build on the analysis that the researcher verified in the structural questions. The focus on similarities or differences between elements in categories or between categories. Examples: •"You seems to have a number of different kinds of customers come in here. I've heard you call some customers 'regulars' and others 'pit stoppers.' How are a regular and a pit stopper alike?" •"Is the difference between a long hauler and a greaser that the greaser doesn't tip?" •"Two types of customers just stopped to use the restroom - entire families and a lone male. Do you call both pit stoppers?"
Problems with Missing Data (LIMITATIONS OF EXISTING STATISTICS AND SECONDARY DATA)
This problem plagues researchers who use existing statistics. Sometimes the data were collected but lost, more frequently the data were never collected. ●Government agencies start and stop collecting information for political, budgetary, or other reasons. ●During the early 1980's cost-cutting measures by the U.S. federal government stopped the collection of information that social researchers found valuable. ●Government has recorded work stoppages and strikes in the U.S. since the 1890's. However 5 years of data are missing from 1912-1916 because the government stopped collecting data during
Organize Yourself Step 1 prepare to enter the feild
To conduct field research, you must refine the skills of careful observation, listening, and regular writing. •Extreme attention to details and short-term memory can improve with practice. •Keeping a daily diary or personal journal is good practice for writing field notes. •A beginning field researcher should read multiple field research studies prior to starting their own study.
Example Study
Uecker et al (2007): Losing my religion: The social sources of religious decline in early adulthood ●Researcher used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (a school-based three-part panel survey on health and related social behaviors) ●The researchers were interested in explaining declines in religious involvement that occur as adolescents move into adulthood. DV: religious involvement, importance of religion in one's life, feelings about organized religion. IV: college attendance, cohabitation, non-marital sex, drug and
Step 5: Gather and Record Data
Watch and Listen - Spend a lot of time watching and listening in the field site. Physical Setting •Scrutinize the field physical setting to capture its atmosphere (ex. what is the color of the floor, walls, ceiling? How large is the room? How is the furniture arranged, what type of lighting is there? Are there signs, paintings, plants? What are the sounds or smells? People's Physical Characteristics •Observe people and their actions, note each person's observable physical characteristics: age, gender, race, and stature. Note their appearance - neatness, style of dress, personal grooming, hairstyle, makeup, perfumes, etc. People's Non-Verbal Communication •Observe nonverbal communication - gestures, facial
Notice the Social Context Step 5: Gather and Record Data
Who was present? Who just arrived or left the scene? Was the room hot or stuffy? •These details can help the researcher assign meaning and understand why and event occurred. •If you don't notice and record these details, they are lost as a part of the full understanding of the event. Serendipity and Chance Encounters •Serendipity (finding valuable things without seeking them) can occur in field research. Many times the researcher may not initially know the relevance of the field notes he or she is taking. However looking back over time, the research may find significant patterns in the data. •Similarly, the researcher may have a chance encounter within a member in the field that leads to important data and insights.
Assume a Social Role Step 2: Choose a Field Site and Gain Access
You play many social roles in daily life - daughter/son, student, customer, sports fan, parent, employee, etc. You occupy two types of roles in the field: 1. Social Role 2. Field Researcher Role •A field researcher's success depends on how skillfully he or she negotiates symbolic interaction processes, such as presentation of self and performing social roles. You must negotiate for social roles that people in the field site assign to you early on in the process. •Your role gives you the ability to observe and interact with members and the freedom to move around. •Your ascriptive features - ex. physical appearance, can limit social roles. However you can change some aspects of appearance (style of dress, hairstyle) but not others (age, race, gender, attractiveness).
Ethnography
a description of people and/or their culture. •It goes beyond just description and tries to infer meanings behind that behavior and uses "thick description."
Secondary data analysis
a special case of existing statistics. The researcher statistically analyzes survey data originally gathered by another researcher. ●Large scale survey data collection can be very expensive and difficult to conduct. Using data collected by another researcher or research organization saves time and money. ●Secondary data analysis permits comparisons across groups, nations, or time; and permits asking about issues not considered by the original researcher.
Unobtrusive Measures (Another name for non-reactive research)
emphasizes the fact that people being studied are not aware of it because the measures do not intrude.
Ecological validity
is the degree to which the social world described by a researcher matches the world of members.
Machine recorded data
phones, cameras, digital recorders, and video recordings can be helpful supplements in field research. •However these items never substitute for field notes or the researcher's presence in the field. •These items will not work in all field sites. Depending on the setting they can create a disruption and increased awareness of surveillance.
Thick description
qualitative data in which a researcher attempts to capture all details of a social setting in an extremely detailed description and convey an intimate feeling for the setting and the inner lives of people in it.
Qualitative Content Analysis
qualitative researchers often use interpretive or critical approaches to study documents and reports. Each image is a cultural object and carries symbolic social meaning. Example: In an examination of print ads in a magazine, what themes come across. Themes ●Beauty can bring you power and happiness ●Owning a certain type of car makes you more masculine, attracts women to you, and indicates you are virile.
Quantitative Content Analysis ( CONTENT ANALYSIS
quantitative researchers often focus on defining concepts, constructing variables, and measuring those variables. Example: How many print ads in a magazine feature beauty products, automobiles, or clothing. The researcher can count the representation of these images and analyze the numbers using statistics. Advertisements 26% clothing 10% jewelry
Social map
shows the number or variety of people and the arrangements among them according to power, influence, friendship, division of labor, etc. •Temporal Map: shows the ebb and flow of people, goods, services and communications or schedules.
Example of Gatekeepers and Access
udhir Venkatesh (2008) - Gang Leader for a Day: A Rouge Sociologist takes to the streets. •In his study of a crack dealing gang in Chicago's low-income housing projects, the researcher had difficulty getting access. •J.T. was a critical gatekeeper for both the gang's activities and the housing project. •A graduate student of South Asian ancestry from a middle class California suburb, the researcher naively entered the projects with a pile of surveys. •The researcher spent the night sitting outside on the cold steps answering J.T.'s questions. The following is an excerpt from his field notes when he returned the following day with beer:
Use charm and nurture trust Step 4: Maintaining Relations in the Field
•You need social skills and personal charm to build rapport. •Trust, friendly feelings, and being well like facilitate communication and can help you understand the inner feelings of others. •Showing a genuine concern for and an interest in other, being honest, can sharing feelings are good strategies. Be prepared for some Freeze-Outs •Freeze outs are members who express an uncooperative attitude or an overt unwillingness to participate. •While rapport and building trust helps you understand others, you may never gain the cooperation of everyone.
Reactive Research
●Experiments ●Survey Research ●Qualitative Interviews ●Field Research (where researcher interacts with those in the field)
Locating data
●Government and international agencies are the main providers of existing statistics ●Most existing documents are free and available in public libraries. Examples: ●U.S. Census Bureau: publishes Social Indicators every 3 years. ●Social Indicators Research is a academic journal devoted to the creation and evaluation of social indicators. ●United Nations: collects data on
Examples of Topics Appropriate for Content Analysis
●Studying themes in popular songs, religious symbols in hymns, etc. ●Trends in the topics that newspapers cover, the ideological tone of newspaper editorials, etc. ●Gender role stereotypes in textbooks, films, television shows, etc. ●Frequency with which people of different races appear in television commercials and programs. ●Propaganda during wartime ●Covers of popular magazines ●Personality characteristics from suicide notes ●Themes in advertising messaging
