week 2 response 3 400

Good Evening,

According to the Owl website, The mere presence of an observer may alter the events--and if you interact with participants, you further risk changing what takes place. The other side to this is that by not participating in an event, you may not gain a complete understanding of that event (Purdue Writing Lab, n.d). That being said, the very point of ethographic studies is to describe the way of life from the point of view of the subject, or observations.

Interpretivists see the advantages of observation including the naturalistic approach, the rapport you are able to build with the subject and by participating in some role the ability to uncover behavior and attitudes that are typically hidden.

The interpretivists aim, first and foremost, to understand, as deeply and fully as possible, the world through someone else’s eyes—to know what it feels like to walk in their shoes, and to see and understand the world as they do (Gordon, 2019). Using observational research and the interpretivist methodology you are emerging yourself in the world you are studying. This allows you to be completely involved with the subjects and gain an insightful view of the way they see things.

For an interpretivist it is not possible to remove all bias in the observation, but rather to admit and disclose up front in any report. To be objective is to put aside your own views and experiences but still be willing to approach the situation without judgement.

Kandice

Brandon Labbree

1 posts

Sensitive Observation and Ethics (Optional to Respond, but can count for participation)

Sometimes when doing observation or ethnographic research, the researcher or researchers will observe illegal, private, sensitive, or otherwise embarrassing behaviors by participants. For example, one of my favorite ethnographic research books looked at how parenting styles and family life differ across class and race to a lesser extent. By its nature, there were some very personal moments in it, moments that were crucial to the research questions themselves.

What do you think are some ethical considerations in situations like this? How do you think researchers handle them?