SOCIOLOGY 213
SOCIETY, INTERACTION, AND THE INDIVIDUAL
HW1: FIELD OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENT PART I (100 points):
WILL BE TURNED INTO: www.turnitin.com
PURPOSE: The purpose of this two-step exercise (HW1 due in Week 3 and HW2 due in Week 5) is for you to conduct inductive and deductive research using qualitative methods.
Note: it is important that you conduct the observations for HW1 and HW2 as two distinct events during this class; ‘recalling’ past observations is not the same as purposefully observing your surroundings from a sociological perspective, and applying two different types of reasoning to one observation will not be ‘truthful’ or successful.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
The purpose of this exercise if for you to observe ONE social setting to begin to detect patterns in human behavior – observance of norms and potentially behaviors that deviate from the norm.
For HW1: Without any prep work, you will need to go to ONE public place and observe the people for 1 hour. Note people’s behavior, their demeanor, their reactions/interactions to/with each other.
HW1-FIELD OBSERVATION I ASSIGNMENT (INDUCTIVE RESEARCH) INSTRUCTIONS:
For HW1: Without any prep work, you will need to go to ONE public place and observe the people for 1 hour in a particular social setting. Note people’s behavior, their demeanor, their reactions/interactions to/with each other.
Here are the steps:
1) Choose the social setting in which will be conducting non-participant observation. This should be a public place such as a park, mall, restaurant, church, coffee shop, etc.
2) For your inductive approach, you will simply choose a time and location where you are going to conduct your observations
3) Go to the specified location and proceed with your observations. You must be a keen social observer; a ‘peeping Tom’ in the sociological sense. Take handwritten (recommended) and/or mental notes of:
-details about your chosen location (time of day, lighting, furniture, plants, sounds, temperature, smell, vibe/energy, etc)
-the people around you, not only their behavior but general information about their sociodemographic characteristics (age, race/ethnicity, gender, SES, etc);
-your thoughts and feelings while making observations.
4) When you have returned from you observation, type up your notes. Review your notes for patterns in behavior, socio-demographic characteristics, etc.
5) Write-up your observations using ‘thick description’ of the location (i.e. building you were in (what is the architecture like), descriptions of people there (in terms of socio-demographic characteristics: age, race/ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status), sounds, smells, temperature, time of day and week, etc);
6) Discuss trends and patterns of behavior that you noticed in your observation. What is a possible sociological/theoretical explanation for the trends you observed? Analyze your observations using a minimum of 4 sociological and one theory from the textbook.
TEXTBOOK:
Social Psychology
Sociological Perspectives
Second Edition
David E. Rohall Western Illinois University
2011 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education. All Rights Reserved.
