Deck 3: Observation and Ethnography

Question 1

You watch parents at their elementary-age children's soccer practices and games for a whole season. You attend all games and practices for three different teams (all-boys, all-girls, and coed) and you take detailed field notes. Which research method are you using?

A) observation
B) ethnography
C) interpretivism
D) symbolic interactionism

Answer 1

observation

Question 2

You watch concertgoers at a local music venue on Saturday nights through the summer. You attend all Saturday night concerts at the venue, which features many different types of music, for 3 months and you take detailed field notes. Which research method are you using?

A) symbolic interactionism
B) ethnography
C) interpretivism
D) observation

Answer 2

observation

Question 3

Which of the following is a difference between observation and ethnography?

A) Ethnography involves taking detailed field notes, while observation does not.
B) Observers always remain very detached from the people they are observing, but ethnographers do not.
C) Ethnography requires deep, daily immersion for months or years, while observation takes much less time.
D) Observation research involves studying group norms, while ethnography does not.

Answer 3

Ethnography requires deep, daily immersion for months or years, while observation takes much less time.

Question 4

Using interpretivist methodology as the basis for observation research means that you will try to ______.

A) understand your participants' behaviors as they would
B) determine the causes of their behavior
C) generalize your findings to other similar situations
D) try to make your observations as unbiased as possible

Question 5

Trust is important in observation research because ______.

A) it increases the replicability of your research
B) it increases the validity of the theory you use in your research
C) it improves your ability to apply your research
D) it improves the access you have to what you want to observe

Question 6

Which is the most appropriate research question for observation research?

A) How do norms about support and competition develop among first-year medical students?
B) How do male professors interact with their classes differently than female professors?
C) How do people cope with suicidal thoughts?
D) How do college students perceive underage drinking?

Question 7

Which of the following is the best research question for observation research?

A) How do employees treat tourists differently than people they perceive to be from the area?
B) Why do foreign tourists make it so obvious they are tourists?
C) How does treatment of tourists differ?
D) How do tourists rate customer service at local restaurants?

Question 8

Why is the following not a good research question for observation research: How do students cope with getting scores that are lower than they need to graduate?

A) It is a quantitative question.
B) The unit of analysis is missing.
C) It asks about things that can't be observed.
D) It is something students don't want to admit to.

Question 9

Why is the following not a good research question for ethnographic research: What is the difference in norms about how students at a historically Black college support one another from norms about how students at a large state university do so?

A) It is asking for a comparison between groups.
B) This question doesn't require immersion in the culture.
C) Students aren't aware of most of these norms.
D) It is asking about things that can't be observed.

Question 10

Which of the following is the best research question for ethnographic research?

A) How do people in a bar flirt with one another?
B) Why do people flirt with other people when they are already in a relationship?
C) How do sorority and fraternity members socialize new recruits to the unspoken rules of interaction between members?
D) How do members of the LGBTQ club on campus challenge heteronormativity in the classroom?

Question 11

Which is the most appropriate research question for ethnographic research?

A) How do norms about support and competition develop among first-year medical students?
B) How do male professors interact with their classes differently than female professors?
C) How do people cope with suicidal thoughts?
D) How do college students perceive underage drinking?

Question 12

Observation research conducted at which of the following kinds of places generally requires informed consent?

A) only private places
B) both private and semiprivate places
C) private, semiprivate, and public places
D) semiprivate and public places

Question 13

Which of the following is important to keep secret for your observation or ethnographic research?

A) the identity of your gatekeeper
B) the real goal of your research, so you don't affect your participants' behavior
C) your real identity, so that you can present yourself as "one of them" to build rapport more easily
D) the location of your observations, in order to protect your participants' identities

Question 14

What should you do if one peripheral person in a group does not agree to participate in your ethnographic research?

A) You must find another group to observe.
B) ask the person for consent again
C) move forward with your research
D) check with your IRB about specific requirements

Question 15

When would you need to change your field site?

A) if you are observing in a public location and some people don't agree to participate
B) if you are conducting ethnography and a peripheral member of the group doesn't agree to participate
C) if you are observing in a private location and a peripheral member of the group doesn't agree to participate
D) if you are conducting ethnography and an important member of the group doesn't agree to participate

Question 16

Of the following, which is the best way to choose dates and times for your observations?

A) convenience sampling
B) random sampling
C) population sampling
D) snowball sampling

Question 17

Which of the following should you avoid using when sampling for which interactions or behaviors to observe in observation research?

A) convenience sampling
B) random sampling
C) theoretical sampling
D) strategic sampling

Question 18

For ethnographic research, you will need to sample for ______.

A) whom you will study
B) days on which you will observe
C) particular behaviors to observe
D) site at which you will observe

Question 19

You are researching conflict among members of a church group. You begin looking for behaviors that signal conflict such as verbal arguments, snide comments, and complaining to a third party about someone's behavior. As you look for these behaviors and deciding which of these are actually incidences of conflict, you are engaging in which research activity?

A) sampling
B) operationalizing
C) conceptualizing
D) analyzing

Question 20

You are researching conflict among members of a church group. For the purposes of your research, you define conflict as "strain in the relational bonds of the group, or between individuals." As you define this term, you are engaging in what research activity?

A) sampling
B) operationalizing
C) conceptualizing
D) analyzing

Question 21

You are observing conflict among members of a church group. You help with and attend services, attend board meetings, and help run some of the religious school and youth group activities. You take field notes after the events, but rarely during, and you are regarded by yourself and others as part of the church community. What role is this taking?

A) participant-observer
B) observer-participant
C) nonparticipant-observer
D) participant-nonobserver

Question 22

You are researching how bonds of trust are formed among member of Alcoholics Anonymous. Since you are not a member of the group, you refrain from engaging in the group activities, though you take detailed field notes. What role is this taking?

A) participant-observer
B) observer-participant
C) participant-nonobserver
D) nonparticipant-observer

Question 23

During the actual time that you are in the field observing as an observer-participant, you should be writing ______.

A) thick description
B) jotted notes
C) field notes
D) personal notes

Question 24

Noting that a person is crying is an ______ and saying that they are upset is an ______.

A) interpretation; interpretation
B) interpretation; observation
C) observation; observation
D) observation; interpretation

Question 25

In which type of field note would you record your thoughts and feelings about what you observe?

A) descriptive notes
B) personal notes
C) interpretive notes
D) theoretical notes

Question 26

In which type of field note would you record your hunches about what you observed?

A) descriptive notes
B) personal notes
C) methodological notes
D) theoretical notes

Question 27

In which type of field note would you note why you made the choices to observe what you did?

A) descriptive notes
B) personal notes
C) methodological notes
D) theoretical notes

Question 28

It is important to write your field notes ______ in order to retain as much detail as possible.

A) while you are at the field site observing
B) after you leave the field site but the same day
C) the next morning after observing when your mind is fresh
D) when you are ready to begin analyzing the data

Question 29

Ethnographic researchers sometimes skip which step in data analysis?

A) open coding
B) axial coding
C) selective coding
D) finding negative cases

Question 30

When you have been observing over a period of time and have begun to develop hunches in your observation research, you should ______.

A) specifically try to observe instances that support or contradict your hunches
B) broaden your focus so as not to bias your data
C) ask your participants if your hunches are correct
D) try to set up situations where the participants will engage in behaviors that support your hunches

Question 31

We are likely to question the validity of an ethnographer's research if ______.

A) they give too much detail in their write-up
B) they separate their interpretations from their observations
C) they show they got too personally involved with the participants
D) they don't present negative cases

Question 32

Describe the similarities and differences between ethnographic research and observation research.

Question 33

Explain how theory can be used in observation and ethnographic research.

Question 34

Contrast sampling for observation research and ethnographic research.

Question 35

The new clothing store at the local mall has asked you to evaluate the effectiveness of their new 1-week training program, which is aimed at improving customer service by coaching employees in how to create better interactions with customers. What is your research question?

Question 36

For the scenario above, explain why observation is the best method to answer your research question.

Question 37

In the scenario above, would you need to get informed consent for this research? Explain.

Question 38

In the scenario above, list six things you would need to do in order to protect your participants.

Question 39

In the scenario above, describe three sampling decisions you would need to make.

Question 40

For the scenario above, conceptualize and operationalize one concept important to your research.

Question 41

For the scenario above, describe the steps you would take in collecting high-quality data.

Question 42

For the scenario above, would you take a nonparticipant-observer, participant-observer, or observer-participant role? Why?

Question 43

For the scenario above, describe how you would analyze your data.

Question 44

You are interested in understanding how some high schools manage to succeed in getting even the usually low-achieving students to do well academically. You decide to undertake observation research to better understand how these schools accomplish this. What is your research question?

Question 45

For the scenario above, explain why observation is the best method to answer your research question.

Question 46

In the scenario above, would you need to get informed consent for this research? Explain.

Question 47

In the scenario above, list six things you would need to do in order to protect your participants.

Question 48

In the scenario above, describe three sampling decisions you would need to make.

Question 49

For the scenario above, conceptualize and operationalize one concept important to your research.

Question 50

For the scenario above, describe the steps you would take in collecting high-quality data.

Question 51

For the scenario above, would you take a nonparticipant-observer, participant-observer, or observer-participant role? Why?

Question 52

For the scenario above, describe how you would analyze your data.

Question 53

You are interested in how bonds of trust are formed between members of Alcoholics Anonymous. You decide to conduct observation research to better understand this phenomenon. What is your research question?

Question 54

For the scenario above, explain why observation is the best method to answer your research question.

Question 55

In the scenario above, would you need to get informed consent for this research? Explain.

Question 56

In the scenario above, list six things you would need to do in order to protect your participants.

Question 57

In the scenario above, describe three sampling decisions you would need to make.

Question 58

For the scenario above, conceptualize and operationalize one concept important to your research.

Question 59

For the scenario above, describe the steps you would take in collecting high-quality data.

Question 60

For the scenario above, would you take a nonparticipant-observer, participant-observer, or observer-participant role? Why?

Question 61

For the scenario above, describe how you would analyze your data.

Question 62

You are interested in the formation and maintenance of unofficial hierarchies in cooperative sports. You have decided to focus on members of a local CrossFit club and will be conducting observation research. What is your research question?

Question 63

For the scenario above, explain why observation is the best method to answer your research question.

Question 64

In the scenario above, would you need to get informed consent for this research? Explain.

Question 65

In the scenario above, list six things you would need to do in order to protect your participants.

Question 66

In the scenario above, describe three sampling decisions you would need to make.

Question 67

For the scenario above, conceptualize and operationalize one concept important to your research.

Question 68

For the scenario above, describe the steps you would take in collecting high-quality data.

Question 69

or observer-participant role? Why?

Question 70

For the scenario above, describe how you would analyze your data.

Question 71

You are interested in gender roles and decide to observe how gender roles are reinforced or challenged among coed gym members. You will be using observation research for this study. What is your research question?

Question 72

For the scenario above, explain why observation is the best method to answer your research question.

Question 73

In the scenario above, would you need to get informed consent for this research? Explain.

Question 74

In the scenario above, describe three sampling decisions you would need to make.

Question 75

For the scenario above, conceptualize and operationalize one concept important to your research.

Question 76

For the scenario above, describe the steps you would take in collecting high-quality data.

Question 77

For the scenario above, would you take a nonparticipant-observer, participant-observer, or observer-participant role? Why?

Question 78

For the scenario above, describe how you would analyze your data.

Question 79

You are conducting ethnographic research in the largest dorm on your campus. What is your research question?

Question 80

For the scenario above, explain why ethnography is the best method to answer your research question.