Observation Report

Observational Report-Option A (Subcultures)

Objectives: to engage in an in-depth observation and analysis of a culture or subculture; to collect and analyze qualitative data; to practice utilizing academic resources; to practice utilizing APA style of citations and references.

Minimum Length: 1000 words (not including reference page or Appendix); put the word count at the end of your assignment; submissions that do not meet the minimum word count will automatically receive a 10% deduction and may be returned for revisions.

Connections to Course Terms/Ideas: You should include, define and connect your research to at least five sociological terms/ideas that you have studied in this course.

Required Citations and References: 1 academic (scholarly) journal article and at least one reference to course material (using APA style)

Format: This is an original research report so you will want to organize/format your paper following the research process. Read the handout Format for Scientific Reports and use the appropriate headings.

Documentation of Observation: You will attach an appendix to your report that contains two sources of documentation.

1) Visual Documentation

Include at least two original photographs in your field notes to document your observations. It is best if you are in the picture, but others needn’t been present. Pictures from the Internet are not acceptable as they do not document your observation.

2) Field Notes

You should include your field notes from the observation. These should be typed or handwritten (if you handwrite them they should be scanned into a PDF file) and should be attached to the paper as an appendix.

Part I: Observation

The purpose of this assignment is for you to learn about subcultures by observing one.  First, select a subculture that you wish to observe. You should be able to access the subculture fairly easily, but without disrupting it. In addition, there should be no illegal or dangerous activity occurring in the subculture you choose to observe. Examples of subcultures that are appropriate choices for observation: a skateboard park, a tattoo parlor (assuming you are old enough to enter), a gay bar (assuming you are old enough to enter), a non-mainstream religious organization, a restaurant in the International District, an all ages dance club, or club meetings of friends or family members (e.g. Boy Scouts).

Choose a subculture to observe. This may be a subculture that you belong to, or one that you do not belong to. Consider whether or not you must inform the group of your observation in order to maintain ethical standards.

You must observe the subculture for a minimum of two hours.  Try to place yourself so that you can observe the members of the subculture without disrupting them. You are NOT conducting any interviews or interacting with the members of the subculture (beyond your own role as a social participant).

Take a notebook or laptop and record your observations in it. Carefully record your observations of the group and its members.  In particular, you’ll want to observe what group members say (to others in the group and to non-members), how they look/dress, what they do. In the methods section of your report you should indicate how you recorded your observations, how long you spent observing, the location you observed, what time of day it was, etc……You should also state very clearly what type of methods you are using and what type of sample this is.

Part II: Report

Since you are collecting original data, you will write your paper as a scientific report (though you will not include any hypotheses, since this is a qualitative study).

Introduction: Before beginning your observation, frame a research question about this subculture. Make sure your research question is relevant (i.e. it relates to what you have been learning in class) and can be answered simply by observing the subculture for a couple hours. In the introduction of your report your research question should be very clearly stated. You should also state why this research is important/interesting. Examples of research questions:

· What are the cultural norms of a tattoo parlor?

· What cultural values are expressed in the interactions between customers in a gay bar?

· What is the material culture that can be observed in a skateboard park? What underlying values or beliefs does this material culture support?

· What are some of the components of material and non-material culture observable at a rave?

Literature Review: Summarize what we already know about this subculture from past literature. Include relevant information from your course readings and at least one academic journal article.

Methods: Describe the methods and sample that were used.

Results: Read through your notes. Were there any recurring incidents or themes? Reread your notes several more times, considering what you’ve learned about culture. Report what you observed in the results section of your report. This section should not include analysis. Provide examples of material/non-material culture that can be observed in this subculture. You may wish to consider: language, symbols, norms, values, beliefs, clothing, music, food, etc…).

Remember, you will be submitting your field notes for this assignment, so you may want to refer to the appendix that contains your field notes in the results section. However, it is not sufficient to simply refer the reader to your notes. You need to provide your own summary in the results section in addition to attaching your notes at the end of your paper.

Discussion: In this section you analyze your results. Why do you think you found what you did? How do your findings fit with the past literature you discussed in the beginning of your paper? What course concepts help us to understand these findings? What are the limitations of your research? What should future researchers consider if they decide to study this topic?

Don’t forget to include citations and references in APA style where appropriate!

Grading Rubric

% Possible	Dimension	Sophisticated	Developed	Developing	Absent	Your %
5	Frames a clear and appropriate research question	5	4.25	3.75	0
10	Uses appropriate research methods and clearly describes them.	10	8.5	7.5	0
20	Provides a detailed description of what was observed. Includes at least two pictures and detailed field notes in appendix.	20	17	15	0
20	Uses at least five sociological concepts, terms, theories, or perspectives from course materials throughout the report and clearly defines/explains them.	20	17	15	0
5	Identifies the limitations of the study	5	4.25	3.75	0
20	Effectively incorporates relevant material from at least one academic journal article (goes beyond just inserting quotations)	20	17	15	0
10	Mechanics (format, spelling, grammar, etc…) and organization ( paragraph order, transitions, and topic sentences; follows format for scientific reports with appropriate headings)	10	8.5	7.5	N/A
10	Includes cites and references using APA format with minimal errors	5	4.25	3.75	0
100					Your %