Select a topic that is suitable for an applied field research study. The study can incorporate the use of qualitative or quantitative data, however, students MUST collect their own data. The goal of the study should be to make recommendations for improving the performance or effectiveness of a group, team, club, organization or business. Students who have jobs should consider basing their study on issues/behaviors in the workplace. The topic does not have to be related to crime or delinquency. Students MUST adhere to the guidelines in the readings on ethics in research (See Maxfield & Babbie, Chapter 3). Students must NOT violate any person’s right to privacy and must NOT place their subjects at risk. A one-page outline of each student’s research topic must be submitted for pre-approval by the instructor. Furthermore, if students elect to incorporate the use of a short survey or interview questions into their study, these materials must be approved by the instructor in advance.
Research Design: Prior to observation, students must formulate a research question and then develop a research design with clear operational definitions along with independent and dependent variables. Students must consider the ethical issues involved, determine the best approach for selecting a sample and consider the strengths and weaknesses of the sampling procedure. Students must also evaluate the generalizability and internal validity of the research design and determine the method most appropriate for conducting the study.
Observations: Students may conduct a survey or interviews with participants (In-person, by phone, or online). These approaches are forms of observation. Alternatively, students may conduct participant observation. You can spend at least 2 hours observing a certain environment and/or group of people. Students may want to observe the behavior of customers, employees, behavior at the mall, how people greet each other, behavior at the food court, or drink buying etiquette in a bar. Students may observe all behavior or focus on a certain type of behavior. Students may compare male to female behavior, underclassmen to upperclassmen, greek students to non-greek students, etc. During the period of observation, students MUST take copious notes. Students MUST NOT observe bathroom behavior, locker room behavior, or try and replicate Humphrey’s tea room trade field research. Please be mindful that observing children in a park can be suspicious, especially for men! Students should be careful and smart about what they choose to observe, and must avoid treading close to the ethics line.
What should students look for? If you choose to conduct direct observation, watch the interactions of individuals with each other, members of their group, as well as larger group dynamics. Do individuals look at each other in the eye when speaking? Smile? Speak in long or short sentences? Have welcoming or resistant body language? Does it vary depending on gender? Age? How do people lay out their materials in front of them? Is there a pattern? Do they share some traits, but not share others? Do they wear similar things? Are there patterns in what they drink or eat? Who they speak to? Where they sit? What habits do you observe? Pay attention to body language, outside environment, and the impact of others.
Warning! It is possible you may recognize someone in your observations however you are not to use their names in this assignment. Confidentiality is important! It is acceptable and often encouraged to refer to your subjects by their behavior (shy, loud, etc), material aspects (things they used or wore (clothing, personal objects, toys, etc) or personal attributes (gender, age, race, etc)