METHODS OF GATHERING DATA OBSERVATION PARTICIPANTRefer to notes

METHODS OF GATHERING DATA

OBSERVATION PARTICIPANT-Refer to notes in Cultural Anthro Participant Observation UNSTRUCTURED-Study people without a predetermined idea of what to look for. E. g. Researcher sits in cafeteria & observes/records anything that occurs STRUCTURED-Planned what will be observed before hand. E. g. Researcher sits in cafeteria & observes/records how many times students eat, swear, laugh, etc… NOTE: Used when researcher wants to watch participants in their natural environment

EXPERIMENT A controlled experiment where tests are conducted to determine how one factor is related to another. E. g. Researcher might study the relationship b/w sleep and grades. Researcher will record how much students sleep and record their grades, etc… NOTE: Used when researcher wants total control of the environment in order to test something.

CASE STUDY A case study is the observation of an individual, a situation or a group over a period of time. By studying one situation in depth, a lot of detail can be gathered and hypotheses about similar situations can be developed. NOTE: A case study is used when a researcher is studying a rare or unique situation, culture, etc…

INTERVIEW Interviews take place in the form of dialogue between the interviewer(s) and the subject. When preparing for an interview one must: § Have 8 -10 questions, approx. 30 min in length § Write down specific questions § Have open ended questions NOTE: Interviews are used when a researcher requires detailed information for a few people.

SURVEY A survey is a questionnaire that asks participants several questions on a related subject matter. When designing a survey one must: § Design 20 -25 questions § Questions should be close ended § Questions should move from general to specific NOTE: Surveys are used when researcher wants to gather detailed info from a large group of people

LONGITUDINAL STUDY § Research that involves repeated collection of data over a long period of time. E. g. Studying students self concept throughout their lives. May study them as children, as adolescents and as adults.

CONTENT ANALYSIS § Researcher examines and classifies the ideas presented in communications such as books, letters, movies, etc… § Is very useful for anthropological or historical research § Sometimes hard to get a reliable sample b/c researcher is relying on other sources.