I. Definition of observation: Observation is used as a tool of collecting information in situations where methods other than observation cannot prove useful, e.g., voter's behaviour during election time. The purpose of observation is to explore important events and situations capturing human conduct as it actually happens. The observation is possible in two ways:
(i) Participant Observation.
(ii) Non-Participant Observation.
Participant Observation: It is one of the techniques of data collection. In small and pre-literate society, this technique can be easily used. But its use becomes quite complicated, when society is complex. It is possible to administer this technique with good results when the identity of the observer can be clocked, that he or she mixes with the inmates of the situation and look at it from inside. At the same time, a successful employment of this method requires a high degree of maturity, because quite often the observer may get lost into the nuances of the situation, so much as to lose objectivity.
Non-participant Observation: In non-participant observation, the observer remains detached and does not participate or intervene in the activities of those who are being observed. He merely observes their behaviour. Sometimes this place the person being observed in an awkward position and their conduct becomes unnatural.
Non-participant observation is not dependent on a systematic plan of observation. However, it facilitates the standardization of social situations to be observed and admits of a systematic plan of the whole observation process and the recording of results. This is because the observer is not required to participate actively in the social processes at work in the social field he is observing. Since he is not himself immediately affected by the demands of the situation, he can concentrate his whole attention easily on systematic observation of the situation and what is happening in it.
II. Types of Observation: Sarantakos (1998) has discussed six types of observation.
These are as under:
1. Structured observation: Structured observation is characterized by a careful definition of the units to be observed, information to be recorded, the selection of pertinent data for observation and standardization of conditions of observation.
2. Unstructured observation: The unstructured observation is diametrically opposed to the structured observation in its ideal-typical formulation. Structured observation, in so far as it is used mainly in studies starting with relatively specific formulations, normally allows for much less freedom of choice with respect to the content of observation than is allowed in unstructured observation.
3. Natural and Laboratory observation: Natural observation is one in which observation is made in natural settings while laboratory observation is one in which observation is made in a laboratory.
4. Open and Hidden observation: Open observation is one in which the identity of the researcher as well as the purpose of study are known to the participants. In hidden observation, both these remain hidden from the people under observation.
5. Direct and Indirect observation: Indirect observation, the observation plays a passive role, i.e. there is no attempt to control or manipulate the situation. The observer merely records what occurs. Indirect observation is one in which direct observation of the object is not possible because either the subject is dead or refuses to take part in the study. In most of the cases, it is used by criminologists to observe the situation of murder etc.
6. Convert and Overt observation: In covert observation, subjects are unaware that they are being observed. Generally, the researcher in this type of observation is himself a participant in all the activities; otherwise it becomes difficult for him to explain his presence. These observations are mostly unstructured. Sometimes this causes them to act differently than they do normally. For example, if a policeman in a police station knows that his behaviour is being watched by a researcher, he will never think of using third-degree methods in dealing with the accused persons; rather he would show that he is polite and sympathetic.
