About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about observation as a social research method, focusing in particular on: (i) the importance of the “role” of the researcher – were they a participant or non-participant in the social setting they were observing?; (ii) the usefulness of observation as a way of understanding people’s behaviours and interactions in their social context, as opposed to, for example, in an interview setting; (iii) some issues associated with observation, such as its time- and resource-intensive nature, ethical concerns around, for example, participant observation within extreme groups, and difficulties around making observational studies reliable and replicable.

About the lecturer

Professor Tim May is Honorary Distinguished Professor at Cardiff University. He has a wide range of expertise relating to research methodologies, sociological theory, and the philosophy of social science. His recent publications include Social Research: Issues, Methods and Process (2021, co-authored with Beth Perry), Thinking Sociologically (2019, co-authored with Zygmunt Bauman), Reflexivity: The Essential Guide (2017, co-authored with Beth Perry).