Field Report (In the field of research: Chapter 3)

- purpose of a field report in the social sciences is to describe the observation

of people,
places, and/or events
- analyze the observation data in order to identify and caategorize common themes

WHAT ARE HUMSS-RELATED TOPICS FOR FIELD REPORTS?

WORKPLACE SETTING
In Social Work

Possible Topics:

1. How effective are the different community development programs in different

places in
the Philippines

2. Shared perspectives of different marginalized communities

3. Simbahayan programs that uplift the economic stature of the adopted community

ACADEMIC SETTING
In Cultural Studies

Possible Topics:

1. Influence of culture on community development programs in different place in the

ph

2. Culture of different marginalized communities

3. UST philosophy imbibed in Simbahayan programs

An observation if the "skill of describing scientific events" drawn from "any

information collected with the senses"

Qualitative Observations
- are those that use our senses to record the results

An example of Qualitative observation is describing the color of the walls of the

room as red

Quantitative Observations
- are those that can be measured using instruments and yield numerical values

An example of a quantitative observation is the square meters of the room floor

DIFFERENT TYPES OF OBSERVATION

Participant Observation
- it involves an intensive interaction between the observer and the subjects or
participants by joining the group
he/she is studying in their environment and participate in their activities

a. Overt Participant Observation

- it is a type of participant observation wherein the identity of the observer is
known to the group being studied. This
means that prior to joining or observing the group, the observer is likely to
inform the members of the group about
his/her goal in joining the

b. Covert Participant Observation

- is a type of participant observation wherein the participants are not aware of
the identity if the observer nor that
they are being observed for research. This method allows the observer to gain
access to groups that would not
normally allow themselves to be studied and to obtain richer and more detailed
observations

Non-Participant Observation
- The observer does not participate in the activities of the group being observed
- He/She is usually seated at the sidelines observing the action of the group. This
means that the observer is not
directly involved in the situation he/she is observing

Naturalistic Observation
- This method, which is commonly used by psychologists and other social science
researchers, requires that the
researcher observes the subjects under study in their natural setting. The observer
simply observes and records
what is really happening as they occur naturally like in laboratory research

Simulations
- The observer simulates or recreates a situation, environment, or system and
observes the subjects under study in
the simulated environment. He/She may ask the participants to portray a role
individually or by team.
This may not guarantee, however, that the participants' behaviour would be the same
as in natural environment

* In research, the following approaches require high observation skills:

1. Ethnography - example. the 70 year old study on happiness (harvard)
2. Case Study - dependent on 1-3 specific exemplary representatives of the research
variable
3. Historical Approach
4. Conversational/Interactional Analysis

HOW TO CONDUCT THE OBSERVATION AND FIELD REPORT

GUIDE POINTS:

1. Systematically observe and accurately record the varying aspects of the

situation
2. Continuously analyze your observation
3. Keep the report's aims in mind while you are observing
4. Consciously observe, record, and analyze what you hear and see in the context of
a theoretical framework
5.