Social sciences: Select and Observe at a Site

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Select and Observe at a Site

Choose a public setting where you can observe what a group of people are doing. You might choose a sports event, a museum, a bus ride, or anywhere else where people are doing something you find interesting and where you can observe their activities. Note: The activities you will be observing and have to report and analyze have to be connected to the social sciences. So, do choose an observation site that can give you a glimpse on some activities that might be connected to cultures, rites, class-or race-based interactions, etc. The context as well as the interactions are important here. Please observe the people at your observation site for 30 minutes. While you are observing the people at your site and their actions, please also do not interact with them. In your process of observing, try to use all of your senses (what do you see, hear, feel, etc.) and be open to new sensations and things you have not heard, sensed, seen, or felt before. 2. Record Field Notes Immediately after your observation period, please sit down and write your “field notes” about your observations. Anything and everything can be a “field note,” but please do write in complete sentences. You may also draw images. Try and be as inclusive as possible and include everything that comes to mind. 3. Write Your Paper Take your field notes and turn them into a 2 to 3 page paper that includes the following:

1. An overview of your observations

2. Social science interpretation of your observations

3. A critical evaluation of the process (using the readings) In parts 1 and 2, indicate what it was that you witnessed and your own interpretations and analysis of what you saw. What do you think was happening and why? Be sure to think in terms of a social science interpretation. In other words, what might you research tell you about social and cultural interactions? In part 3, please also use both the Rosaldo essay and the Geertz chapter to reflect upon the practice and process of making and interpreting observations. How is qualitative understanding also about personal experience and identity? What do you think you brought to your own practice of observation?