Page 150 - DSOC404_METHODOLOGY_OF_SOCIAL_RESEARCH_ENGLISH

Methodology of Social Research

notes 4. inadequate in some studies: there are many such incidences like crime, history of personal
lives, etc. which do not give an opportunity for observation. P. V. Young has written “not all
incidences can be observed. observer is not present at the time of happening of all incidences
and nor is it possible to study all incidences through various observation methods.”
Three inferences can be drawn from this statement of P.V. Young:
(i) there are certain incidences, observation of which is forbidden, such as the personal life of
two lovers.
(ii) Certain incidences are such that their place and time of happening is not fixed; hence their
observation is not possible.
(iii) Nature of certain incidences is such that their observation is not possible, such as—a person’s
thoughts, feeling, objectives, nature or incidences happened in past etc.
Despite of the certain limitations of observation method, it is being used in the social research since
the ancient times. its importance as a method that provides the comforts of being easy, trustworthy,
and useful and verification will always be there. With time, there have been improvements in it and
day-by-day it is becoming a more standard and trustworthy method.

Kinds (Types) of Observation

social incidences are various and complex in nature. study of all the kind of incidences cannot be done
through the same kind of observation. Because of this only various kind of observations have been
developed. originally, observation has been divided in controlled or uncontrolled and participant
and non-participant category. We can express various types of observation through a chart in the
below mentioned manner:

Kinds of Observations

¯
↓ ↓ ↓
Uncontrolled Observations Controlled Observations Group Observations

↓ ↓ ↓ ↓ ↓
Non-Participant Non-Participant Half-Participant Controll on Controll on
Observations Observations Observations Incident Observer

We shall mention here all the above named types of observation:

uncontrolled observation

We can study social incidences through both types of observation, controlled and uncontrolled. in
uncontrolled observation, there is no form of any control on both, the observers and the group being
observed. observer studies the incidences in their actual and natural form only. in uncontrolled
observation, any kind of special framework, formality or appointment is not there. Because of it
being a simple job, Godey and Haute calls it simple observation. Jahoda and Cook call it unstructured
observation. Uncontrolled observation is also known by the name of open observation, informal
observation or indirect observation.
In the field of social research, uncontrolled observation is an old method. Expressing this fact,
Godey and Haute have written “in the subject of social relation, whatever knowledge humans have,

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