Observational Research Depends Upon Gaining Access to and Getting Along

question 14

Essay

Observational research depends upon gaining access to and getting along in a particular observational site.Discuss how you would gain access to a site that might be outside your usual range of accustomed settings.How for example,would you go about conducting observational research among senior executives in a corporation,or a group of homeless mothers and children in a homeless shelter? Choose a site and describe what you would do to successfully and ethically gain entry.Be sure to discuss the social skills and resources that Lofland and Lofland (1995)emphasize: connections,knowledge,accounts and courtesy.

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Definitions:

Consensus

General agreement among a group of people or within a community.

Consistency

The principle of maintaining uniformity or stability in one's beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors over time or across situations.

Kelley's Covariation Model

This model proposes that people attribute behavior to factors that covary most closely with, or appear to cause, that behavior, considering consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency information.

Consensus

A general agreement among a group of people or within a community, often reached after discussion and consideration of various perspectives.