8 page observational paper due in 10 hours

THE SOCIOLOGY OF EVERYDAY LIFE

Observation Assignment

This assignment is worth 30% of your final grade.

Due: March at the beginning of class.

Objectives: The objective of this assignment is to hone research skills, make observations of social worlds and specifically social interactions, and to use your sociological imagination through applying critical analyses with key concepts/theories from the course to everyday life situations.

This assignment gives you the opportunity “to do” sociology.

Description: This assignment has three parts.

First, you will conduct two sessions of observation at public sites. You may choose two different sites or conduct fieldwork at the same site at two different times. You should plan to spend a minimum of one hour at each site but two hours is recommend.

Second, you will take detailed field notes (either handwritten or typed on a laptop) of your site sessions. You will be handing these notes in so please ensure they are legible!

Third, you will write a report on your research findings.

Instructions:

Select a Site: You will be conducting fieldwork in public settings to which you have open access. The sites include: transit station, shopping mall, grocery store, cafeteria/restaurant/coffee shop, and library. You may make observations of social interactions in the same setting (i.e. on different dates and say at different times for comparative purposes) or you may make observations at different sites (i.e. a cafeteria and library on the same campus) or similar settings in different locations (i.e. two different transit stations). Be purposeful when it comes to site selection.

Participant Observation: You are a participant observer at these sites. Specifically, you are a complete observer along the continuum of participant observation. This means that while you are in plain sight in a public setting, the public being studied is unaware of your observation/research. The observation however, is unobtrusive and unknown to participants.

Having said that, ethical guidelines are still very much important here.

Taking Field Notes: While conducting your observations, you should take detailed field notes or descriptions of the site, setting, behaviours, and social interactions.

Analysis & Report:

This report is not a formal paper, it is a write-up that will have the following sections -

An introduction that provides all of the background to this observation exercise.

1. Describe the setting (the physical layout, the social actors) in which you conducted your observations. Your description should be succinct yet detailed enough to provide a full picture of the setting. Be sure to mention when and for how long you carried out your observations.

2. Explain why you chose this setting. If you had a general idea of what you were looking for (or a specific hypothesis) you should include this in this section.

3. Discuss any problems/challenges which you encountered in doing your observation (i.e., anything that made it difficult for you to collect information).

Presentation of Findings

i) Discuss your findings on social interaction.

Think about the following questions as you analyze your findings:

• What was the nature of the social interaction? What patterns did you observe (for example, verbal, non-verbal communication, use of space, etc.)?

• What were some different types of interaction (e.g., acknowledgment of strangers)?

• What "rules" or "implicit social theories" seemed to exist among participants?

• What information (e.g., social categories [sex, age, race, class], setting) seemed to be important in determining the behaviour of the participants you observed?

• Can you develop categories or "types" of interaction?

• What did you believe were the most important aspects of the interactions which you observed?

Utilize sociological concepts (e.g., from the course materials) to explain what you observed. BE SURE TO ILLUSTRATE YOUR ANALYSIS WITH EXAMPLES FROM YOUR OBSERVATIONS.

Conclusions

i) Summarize your main points. What were your most important findings? Explain.

ii) Can you generalize from your observations to other settings or to social behaviour in general (for example, what ideas from an analysis of behaviour in a supermarket might be applicable to behaviour in other settings?)? What have you learned about human social behaviour? Has your research given you any new insights into the social forces which shape your own behaviour(s)?

iii) What suggestions could you make for future research (what ideas could you suggest for a follow-up project)?

Reflections on the Research Role

i) Reflect on the role of complete observer and ‘doing’ fieldwork/’doing sociology’.

ii) Does being out in the field deepen your understanding of the sociological perspective/imagination? Explain.

*There is no outside research required for this paper beyond the additional readings found under “Observation Assignment”

* The report should be 8-10 pages (not including your bibliography or field notes).

* The report should use headings and sub-headings.

Evaluation: This assignment will be graded upon the quality of the presentation (structure, organization of thought, legibility and comprehensiveness of field notes; spelling & grammar) as well as upon the quality of the analysis (ability to utilize course theories and concepts in meaningful and insightful ways). Grading as follows:

Field notes ___ 10

Written Report _____ 7 (quality of presentation)

_____ 20 (presentation and analysis of findings)

_____ 18 (conclusions)

_____ 5 (reflections on the research process)

Total ____ 60 pts

**NOTE: Please use my office hours to ask questions of this assignment and to check in with me to ensure that you are on the right track.