Among all research methods listed in Table 13.3 of the textbook, the most interesting to me is Ethnography. I consider this method the most interesting due to the fact that the researcher becomes a part of the group he or she is studying. Also, the fact that the researcher does not impose his or her own assumptions and the conclusions emerge naturally is something fascinating to me. If, for instance, I was going to study some aspect of deception, let’s say, how some romantic partners deceive each other, my research question would probably be: “what are the communication patterns of romantic partners who deceive each other?” Although it would not be easy to obtain true information from romantic partners who cheat on the other party, I wonder that I would go to places where couples usually go, such as clubs, and I would observe how romantic partners behave when they are accompanied by his or her other half, as well as how they behave when they go to the club without the other half. I imagine that talking to people in public places would be another interesting way to obtain data for my ethnographic study.
I also thought doing ethnography research would be the most interesting of all the methods that were listed. I am a curious people observer and have been all my life, so that method would suit me the best. I notice things that many of my friends do not notice, in just casually watching someone alone, or when two people are interacting. I guess I have a natural talent for analyzing people. I think that I would also enjoy conducting research using the performance method; I love the art of theatre, and that would be a fun job to have. I think the research experiment that you mentioned about couples clubbing together and apart would be really interesting. One research session could be conducted with the subjects under the influence of alcohol, and one without alcohol. The data results would probably be very different!
ReplyDeleteI think it would be interesting to be able to sit and watch behavior of people. I think that some people would struggle because like the book says, it is supposed to be used for scientific purposes not for personal. I know that it is for professionals, but learning how to do it effectively would be hard not to use it for personal use. I also think it would be hard to find accurate information about romantic partners who cheat on them with someone else. Because I am sure most people who cheat would not openly admit to it no matter what just so they know that they have a less probability of being caught.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Ethnography requires researchers to overlook his or her own influences and opinion of the topic, some argue that this can't be done. No researcher can have complete reflexivity when researching. It is impossible to rule out all biases when conducting ethnographic research. However, I do not think that means that all ethnographic research is inaccurate. I doubt all biases that people are unable to rule out have a big enough impact to render the information as useless.
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