Non-Participant Observation
Non-participant observation is a research technique where data is collected by observing behaviour in group functions and recording observations without interacting with the participants.
Advantages
- Gives access to natural settings.
- Good to observe small group or individual interaction
- Can observe ‘natural behaviour’
Disadvantages:
- Being observed may lead people to behave differently, thus invalidating the data obtained
- Time consuming
- Cost can be prohibitive
- Can be difficult to quantify and theorise results, eg data can become descriptive
- Researchers can influence results – researcher’s presence is automatically a source of bias
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