Essays on Participant observation

What characterizes naturalistic research? Naturalistic observation is a research method commonly used by psychologists and other social scientists. This technique involves observing subjects in their natural environment. This type of research is often utilized in situations where conducting lab research is unrealistic, cost prohibitive or would unduly affect the subject’s behavior. Naturalistic observation differs from…

In 1970 Laud Humphreys, then a Washington University Phd student, wrote his infamous thesis ‘Tearoom Trade’ which was a study of homosexual behaviour between men in public toilets in a U.S. city. Perhaps not surprisingly, given the topic, the research was highly controversial, however this was not just due to its sensitive subject matter. A…

I chose a booth with my back against the wall, giving me a foreboding view of the Galleria food court. Armed with a pencil and a ready notebook, I started jotting down observations during the three hours I spent engaged in people-watching. Initially, nothing in particular caught my attention as I scanned from table to…

Cities exist for many reasons and the diversity of urban form and function can be traced to the complex roles that cities perform. Cities serve as centers of storage, commerce, and industry. The agricultural surplus from the surrounding country hinterland is processed and distributed within the city. Urban areas have also developed around marketplaces, where…

Introduction Tobias Hecht, an American anthropologist, researched and wrote a book on street children of metropolitan recife and the neighboring areas. He wrote a detailed volume in the response on how these street children were being treated and put acrossHistory the sensation of this difficult subject tried by many writers. He researched on this subject…