Deck 5: Observing Social Life Through Field Research

Question 1

The most common method of ethnographic field work is ________.

A) grounded research
B) ethnomethodology
C) verstehen
D) participant observation

Answer 1

participant observation

Question 2

Observing people in situ means ________.

A) recording only those interactions or situations which are directly pertinent to a specific research question
B) studying both the private and public lives of subjects
C) finding them where they are, staying with them in some social role, and observing their behaviour
D) studying people in a covert way so that they do not know they are being watched

Answer 2

finding them where they are, staying with them in some social role, and observing their behaviour

Question 3

The textbook argues that ethnography as a research method dates back to ________.

A) Herodotus' historical accounts of the Persians and the Scythians in fifth century BCE
B) the Chicago School of Ecology in the 1920s
C) John Howard's work on the English prison system in the 1770s
D) Karl Marx's studies of alienated workers in the 1800s

Answer 3

Herodotus' historical accounts of the Persians and the Scythians in fifth century BCE

Question 4

By the nineteenth century, ethnographies had taken a turn towards examining social issues for the purpose of creating community awareness and change. The research that typifies this change is ________.

A) Howard Becker's study of outlaw biker gangs
B) Nels Anderson's study of life as a homeless man
C) William F. Whyte's study of Boston slums
D) Charles Booth's study of the living and working conditions of Londoners

Question 5

The Institute for Social and Economic Research was developed to foster research on ________.

A) how the integration of women into the workforce had an impact on social and economic circumstances of families in New York and Chicago
B) Indigenous life in northern communities
C) how desegregation following the civil rights movement altered the economic status of Black Americans
D) the social and economic questions arising from the particular historic, geographic and economic circumstances of Newfoundland and Labrador

Question 6

You should start taking notes and writing down your ideas ________.

A) as soon as you decide on a topic and a setting for your field research
B) when you start to engage with your research participants
C) after you have obtained the consent of the gatekeepers
D) once you have collected all the data you need

Question 7

To become a "complete participant" in his study Making Gray Gold, Timothy Diamond ________.

A) sought the permission of all of his respondents to observe them
B) went to vocational school to become a certified nursing assistant and took jobs in several nursing homes
C) would visit his mother (who lived in a retirement community) and covertly observe social interactions between staff and residents
D) moved to a gold mining town in Alaska where he spent his evenings in local pubs listening to the workers discuss their difficulties at home and at work

Question 8

According to the textbook, one thing that is true of all four levels of research participation is that ________.

A) they are all difficult to get ethical approval for because researchers inevitably leave a "footprint" in the field
B) they are all time consuming methods of research that necessitate building strong relationships with the potential study group
C) rather than being mutually exclusive approaches, researchers often straddle the line between approaches-in other words, they all represent "ideal types"
D) they all require qualitative interviews to fill in the gaps missed during participation or observation

Question 9

In revealing a "storyline" to the individuals in your research setting, all of the following are true except ________.

A) being truthful about your work is vital unless you have a compelling reason do to otherwise
B) your storyline should be brief and clear
C) your storyline should not be a standard storyline but tailored to each individual in the setting
D) your storyline should be straightforward and unambiguous

Question 10

The term "gatekeeper" refers to ________.

A) individuals who have power to grant or deny access to a social setting
B) individuals from your study who ultimately determine whether your work should be published
C) individuals who have the ability to provide access to the most powerful members of a group
D) researchers who empathize with their subjects

Question 11

Elliot Liebow's work on homeless women's shelters is an example of a research "bargain" because ________.

A) he gave food to the gatekeeper in exchange for access to her friends in the shelter
B) he shared his work with participants and included their responses in his book, but he did not change his analysis
C) he gained access to the homeless shelter after signing a strict confidentiality agreement for the manager of the shelter
D) he agreed to report any "illegal" conduct that he saw during the course of his observation right to shelter staff

Question 12

________ are individuals who have deep ties to the community and can provide access to certain settings and populations in informal ways.

A) Sponsors
B) Gatekeepers
C) Informants
D) Facilitators

Question 13

According to the author, the best way to gain the trust of participants in a study where you are an outsider is to ________.

A) adopt the body language and dress of the group members you are studying as much as possible
B) try to copy the jargon of the group in your questions and responses
C) agree with everything you are told, even if you secretly disagree with the viewpoint presented
D) play the role of an "incompetent" and ask lots of questions

Question 14

Gary A. Fine's participation in simple kitchen tasks (such as peeling potatoes) during his research in restaurant kitchens is an example of ________.

A) advancement through interaction
B) incorporation
C) clandestine sociology
D) empirical deception

Question 15

Field notes are best defined as ________.

A) phrases, quotes, keywords, and other short notes that relate to a theoretical concept
B) statistically representative reflections from the field
C) records of what you see, hear, feel, and do in the field
D) notes you will use later when completing qualitative interviews with members you observed

Question 16

According to the textbook, the best time to write-up your field notes is ________.

A) after you have had a few days to reflect on how the field experience went
B) as soon as possible after leaving your setting
C) during the observational period itself
D) only after you have had a chance to interview members about what was ambiguous during your direct observations

Question 17

After completing a field study, the researcher should leave the research setting ________.

A) so no future researcher can enter to ensure that his or her study is the only one
B) immediately and regularly check on the well-being of his or her informants
C) immediately and disappear forever and never contact his or her informants again
D) in a manner that would not make the entrance of a future researcher difficult

Question 18

Ross Haenfler's research on the straight edge scene and C.J. Pascoe's work on teenage boys' masculinity shows that ________.

A) while the researcher's gender may make his or her work more difficult, strategies can be adopted to overcome these challenges
B) the researcher's gender is more important than the gender of the group members studied
C) the researcher's gender makes it impossible for him or her to study certain topics or groups in the field
D) the researcher's gender is less important than the gender of the group members studied

Question 19

One of the most important early sociological ethnographies in Canada is ________.

A) Cato Wadel's Marginal Adaptations and Modernization in Newfoundland
B) Carl Dawson's Group Settlement
C) Herbert Brown Ames' The City Below the Hill
D) Everett C. Hughes' French Canada in Transition

Question 20

One of the earliest and most important studies to develop out of the Chicago School is ________.

A) Lesley Harman's When a Hostel Becomes a Home
B) Nels Anderson's The Hobo
C) Elliot Liebow's Tally's Corner
D) Herbert Gans' The Levittowners

Question 21

Haru wants to conduct an in-depth study of the hacktivist group Anonymous to better understand their culture of resistance. Haru has never met any of the group's members in person but has chatted with several members regularly through various social media platforms. These gatekeepers have agreed to participate in Haru's study of their group's culture and will help him recruit other members on the condition that Haru never attempts to meet anyone in person and promises that their conversations take place entirely in the online environment. The research method best suited to Haru's unique study is ________.

A) simulation
B) complete observation
C) virtual ethnography
D) salvage ethnography

Question 22

Akia is conducting field research with a group of Indigenous women to understand their experiences of motherhood. Akia knows that Indigenous groups often have protocols that researchers must adhere to when asking gatekeepers' permission to begin a study. In Akia's study, the gatekeepers are ________.

A) the Indigenous community and their elders
B) the female research participants
C) the husbands and partners of the research participants
D) Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada

Question 23

One of the main goals of a field study is to avoid gaining "intimate familiarity" with the group being studied to ensure that a certain level of verstehen is achieved.

Question 24

The most common approach to fieldwork is where the researcher becomes a participant in the setting, maintaining no distance as an observer.

Question 25

One of the main issues with early ethnographic studies (especially those undertaken during the height of the colonial period) is that it they were often ethnocentric or biased.

Question 26

Herbert Ames' work on the impact that rapid urbanization had on poverty in Montreal is considered by many to be one of the most important early sociological ethnographies in Canada.

Question 27

When a researcher chooses to become a "complete observer," he or she does not interact with members in that setting, but always communicates with them upon "completion" of the study.

Question 28

When it comes to fieldwork, Adler and Adler argue that researchers should simply enter the setting, announce their intentions, and begin to interact with the people they encounter.

Question 29

When it comes to finding a research sponsor, those individuals who are immediately welcoming to you as an outsider/newcomer are often themselves outsiders in their own social circle, which you plan to study.

Question 30

The textbook suggests that full field notes are best written up based on jottings made while in the field.

Question 31

Gatekeepers are individuals who have deep ties to the community and can provide access to certain settings and populations in informal ways.

Question 32

Buford Junker's 1952 typology of roles from which the field researcher can choose consists of two levels of participation.

Question 33

Early Canadian anthropologists collected documents, photographs, and artifacts of Indigenous peoples and "folk" cultures in Quebec to "preserve" them based on the mistaken belief that these cultures would soon die out.

Question 34

Research participants do not always have an accurate view of their own behaviour which can lead to distorted accounts. The most significant drawback of observing people in their everyday settings is that researchers cannot avoid this distortion.

Question 35

Briefly explain how the Chicago School's approach to ethnography helped to change common perceptions about the social life of slum dwellers.

Question 36

Briefly explain the process of fieldwork "jotting" and how one would go from "jots" to making full field notes.

Question 37

Explain how one should leave the field after completing research.

Question 38

Explain how the storyline in field research relates to gaining access to the setting and the group's trust.

Question 39

Describe the ethical issues you might expect to encounter if you were to do an ethnography of what it is like to be a student at your university.

Question 40

Briefly discuss the problematic history of Indigenous research that eventually influenced the establishment of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Populations and Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Question 41

Based on research discussed in this chapter, compare and contrast the various "levels" of research participation ensuring that you cite specific examples of work that typifies each level where appropriate.

Question 42

The author of your textbook recalls her experience of dealing with a "gatekeeper" during her study of widows. Describe this experience, and explain what impact the gatekeeper ultimately had on the author's work.

Question 43

Find a study that relied extensively on field research and led to the publication of a book. Name ethical issues the researcher encountered and specify which ones she or he clearly identified. How did the researcher address these ethical issues or how could she or he have addressed them?

Question 44

What is virtual ethnography? How does virtual ethnography change our definition of what "the field" is? Explain which principles of ethical research are easy to meet and which ones are difficult to meet when using virtual ethnography as a research method.