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Using information from the items and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of participant observation to sociologists.
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Using information from the items and elsewhere, assess the usefulness of participant observation to sociologists. Participant Observation is a method of data collection that takes advantage of the human ability to empathise. It is often most useful to interpretist sociologists, as the data gathered is usually qualitative, and the research is invariably low in reliability. It is also high in validity, as the information is shared in a trusting environment. However, it is important to remember subjects may exaggerate for sympathy or to boast. There is a lot of depth and interaction involved in participant observation, therefore the data cannot be turned into measurable statistics. This is good for a sociologist using a micro, or bottom up approach, as they require feeling and opinions rather than numbers, as with positivists. Having said this, Emile Durkheim regarded suicide as a 'social fact', and used suicide statistics as hard evidence to explain a...
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