PSYC 2110 Chapter Notes - Chapter 14: Participant Observation
PSYC 2110 Chapter 14 Notes
Introduction
Ethnography
• It is often difficult to directly compare subjects who have been asked different
questions, taken different tests, and been observed under different circumstances.
• Case studies may also lack generalizability
• That is, conclusions drawn from the experiences of the small number of individuals
studied may simply not apply to most people.
• The 9th-gades i Baug’s disussio goup, fo eaple, ee all fo a lage it i
the eastern United States, and theories posited as a result of analyzing their discussion
may not apply to boys in Canada or Finland or Southeast Asia.
• For these reasons, any conclusions drawn from case studies should always be verified
through the use of other research techniques.
• Ethnography—a form of participant observation often used in the field of
anthropology—is becoming increasingly popular among researchers who hope to
understand the effects of culture on developing children and adolescents.
• To collect their data, ethnographers often live for periods of months or even years
within the cultural or subcultural community they are studying.
• The data they collect are typically diverse and extensive, consisting largely of naturalistic
observations, notes made from conversations with members of the culture, and
interpretations of these events.
• These data are eventually used to compile a detailed portrait of the cultural community
ad da olusios aout ho the ouit’s uiue alues ad taditios
influence aspects of the development of its children and adolescents.
• Detailed ethnographic portraits of a culture or subculture that arise from close and
enduring contact with members of the community can lead to a richer understanding of
that ouit’s taditios ad values than is possible through a small number of visits,
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