Observation Methods (SAGE Benchmarks in Social Research Methods)

Observation - as a deliberate, organized and systematic form of ′looking′ or ′watching′ - is integral to all scientific inquiry. It is a process that is guided by rational principles and assumptions, and motivated by an interest in obtaining data on occurrences, events, processes, reactions, forms of conduct and relationships.

This collection, drawing together key contributions on observation methods in social research, provides comprehensive coverage of the historical development of observational methods and techniques and offers analytic reflection on the various issues involved in the scientific practice of observation. The volumes demonstrate the rich diversity of observational methods, techniques and associated innovations, as well as providing examples of results obtained by studies now considered to be social science classics. The volumes contain important material concerned with the development and refinement of observational methods, as well as the theoretical and philosophical understandings and assumptions integral to observation as a process. Sources that explore the practical matters involved in the stages of preparing for, engaging in, and analysing observations also feature, along with material from classic studies using observational methods. Finally, in addition to critiques of methods of observation, there are sources responding to recent developments within observational methods which utilise the possibilities afforded by contemporary digital and information technology in creative ways.

Barry Smart is Professor of Sociology at the University of Portsmouth and has longstanding research interests in the fields of social theory, political economy, and philosophy. His research interests include critical social research ethics; higher education; and collaborative work on veganism, ethics, lifestyle and environment. 

Kay Peggs is Professor of Sociology at Kingston University (UK), Fellow of the Oxford University Centre for Animal Ethics, and Visiting Fellow in Sociology at the University of Portsmouth (UK). Previously she has worked at the universities of Warwick, Surrey, Portsmouth and Winchester. Her publications include: Identity and Repartnering after Separation (Palgrave, 2007) with Richard Lampard, Animals and Sociology (Palgrave, 2012) and numerous essays and articles in journals such as Sociology, The British Journal of Sociology, and The Sociological Review. She is co-editor of Observation Methods (Sage, 2013) and is assistant editor of the Palgrave Handbook of Practical Animal Ethics. Forthcoming publications include Experiments, Animal Bodies and Human Values (Routledge) and the co-authored book (Not) Consuming Animals: Ethics, Environment and Lifestyle Choices (Routledge), which is based on the research project she led on veganism, ethics and lifestyle.

Joseph Burridge is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Portsmouth.  Joseph has considerable editorial experience having co-edited a special issue of the journal Social Semiotics (Vol 18, Issue 3, 2008), which was re-published as an edited book Analysing Media Discourse (Routledge, 2011).  He also organised and edited a special issue of the journal Food and Foodways (Vol 20, Issue 1, 2012).    Joseph teaches research methods across the Portsmouth curriculum, as well as offering a final year module in his area of specialist interest: the sociology of food.  While Joseph’s main research interests lie in the areas of food and culture, he is also interested in the sociology of culture more generally, along with rhetoric, argumentation, discursive methods, and media representations.