DB #5 Student Post Reply

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Chapter 11:

Field Observation

Learning Objectives • Be able to describe field research as a data collection method that

involves the direct observation of phenomena in their natural settings • Recognize that field observation is usually the preferred data collection

method for obtaining information about physical or social settings, behavior, and events

• Understand that field research in criminal justice may produce either qualitative or quantitative data

• Provide examples of how observations made through field research can be integrated with data collected through interviews and from other sources

• Understand why field researchers may or may not identify themselves as researchers to the people they are observing

Learning Objectives, cont.

• Recognize what sampling techniques are best suited for field research, and when they can be used

• Recognize the alternatives for recording field observations, ranging from video, audio, and other equipment to unstructured field notes

• Understand how field notes are taken, and be able to describe different ways to combine structure and flexibility in field notes

• Summarize how field research measures up on validity and reliability

Introduction • Field research encompasses two different

methods of obtaining data: – Direct observation – Asking questions

• May yield qualitative and quantitative data • Often no precisely defined hypotheses to be

tested • Used to make sense out of an ongoing

process

Field Research Topics • Gives comprehensive perspective—

enhances validity – Go directly to phenomenon; observe it as completely

as possible

• Especially appropriate for topics best understood in their natural setting – Street-level drug dealers to distinguish customers

• Ethnography: Focuses on detailed and accurate description rather than explanation

Discussion Question 1

What if your government supplied you with $50,000 for field research? Which conditions or behaviors would you be interested in observing?

Roles of the Observer

• Complete participant: Participate fully; true identity and purpose are not known to subjects

• Participant-as-observer: Make known your position as researcher and participate with the group

• Observer-as-participant: Make known your position as a researcher; do not actually participate

• Complete observer: Observe without becoming a participant

Purposive Sampling in Field Research

• Controlled probability sampling used rarely; purposive sampling is common

• Bear in mind two stages of sampling: – To what extent are the situations available for observation

representative of the general phenomena you wish to describe and explain?

– Are your actual observations within those total situations representative of all observations?

– Consider how observations will vary by population, space, micro time, macro time, and weather dimensions

Recording Observations

• Note-taking or tape recording when interviewing and when making observations (dictation)

• Videotaping or photographs can make records of “before” and “after” some physical design change

• Field notes: Observations are recorded as written notes, often in a field journal; first take sketchy notes and then rewrite your notes in detail

• Structured observations: Observers mark closed- ended forms, which produce numeric measures

Discussion Question 2

What if you wanted to research crime in a dangerous area? Would you use a camera? Why or why not? Be specific.

Linking Field Observations

• Useful to combine field research with surveys or data from official records – Baltimore study of the effects of neighborhood physical

characteristics on residents’ perceptions of crime problems (Taylor, Shumaker, and Gottfredson, 1985)

– Perceptions: Surveys – Physical problems: Observations; actual population and crime

information (census data and crime reports from police records)

Shoplifting

• Counted only when offense is seen; takes place only in certain locations; crime of stealth and not confrontation – Prevalence defined as ratio of shoplifters: shoppers – Subjects selected by systematic sampling, e.g., every

twentieth shopper was followed by a field observer – Other research staff were employed as shoplifters to

measure reliability of observers’ detections – Could adjust prevalence rate with reliability figures

How Many People Wear Seat Belts?

• Rate of use: # of people wearing: # of cars observed • Stationary observers at roadsides rather than mobile • Placed at controlled intersections • Sampled cars on three dimensions: Time of day,

roadway type, observation site; stratified sites by density of auto ownership (correlated with population)

• Emphasized marking “U” when uncertain

Discussion Question 3

What if you could replicate one of these projects? Which would you choose?

Strengths & Weaknesses • Provides great depth of understanding • Flexibility (no need to prepare much in advance) • More appropriate to measure behavior than

surveys • High validity: quant. measures—incomplete picture • Low reliability: Often very personal • Generalizability: Personal nature may produce

findings that may not be replicated by another • Precise probability samples can’t normally be

drawn