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I really related to this article. Observation, for me, is almost a survival mechanism...using it to predict reactions of others to stay one step ahead. It has saved me from making the same mistake twice in countless situations...both personal and work related. It would be more than enjoyable to observe for the purpose of research...it's more relaxing that observing because you are trying to predict bad behavior of some kind on a more personal level and take action. That said, the idea of observing some human behavior is intriguing.

I found myself re-reading-many many times-the difference between qualitative and quantitative observations. It finally made sense on the 5th read...quantitative seems to be just observing for the sake of observing. Qualitative is observing with a purpose, a purpose relevant to the subject. I think. ...the attempt to find the significance of the observation? I don't know why I am stuck on this again.

I am worried I will not cover all I need to cover in terms of ethical issues. And with all the variables and processes, this observation project is not going to a cut and dry look-and-report type of project. Of course, I did not expect that, but I'm concerned that I will miss something with regard to the method and how it's all supposed to be done.

So, my next question...do you choose your membership role before or during the observation? And can it change as the observation progresses or once you choose a role that's the one you must stick with so as not to compromise the integrity of the observation...???

A lot of what I learned...or tried to learn...in my research statistics class has been clarified by reading this article. Because the class was taken over the summer, it was very abbreviated, and I often felt I was getting the bare minimum of information, skipping over what would have brought me to the conclusions I was told I would reach if I used x y z method. Now the whole idea of validity and reliability, the idea of generalizing, using different observers and ensuring findings are not just chance (381) makes sense. It seems obvious, but when you learn it backwards, the obvious is not so clear.

After reading about the various settings the named researchers chose to do their observations (385) was intriguing (minus the bathroom observation...) and had me wondering what exactly I would observe and where. I feel unprepared to take it on, but this article gave some great guidance and information that I'll be referring back to.