Data

A key advantage of conducting observations is that you personally get to see what people do and not what they say they do. Sometimes people exaggerate or even lie about what they may do in a situation. This allows for observation without any hindrance or disruption.. Observations also are made in real life settings which allow for meaning and context to be accessed more freely. There are numerous scenarios in the world of criminal justice, and related disciplines, where approaching people for a questionnaire or interview may possibly scare the individual into not talking or possibly even make people upset not bringing positive results. Observations allow for a less direct approach which could help bring out more information. Such things like questionnaires limit people responses not allowing for an in-depth view or explanation for ones actions to be uncovered.
Field notes are going to be a very important part of this process. Field notes are not only created by the researcher to remember and record the behaviors, activities, events and other features of the setting being observed but they are also created to help the researcher later analyze what was taken down and translate it possibly into a deeper meaning. They produce meaning and understanding of the phenomena that is being studied. When it comes to this type of research there are many advantages. Some are that you have access to people in real life situations, it is very helpful when needing to explain the meaning and context of something, it helps strengthen the validity and gives a more in-depth understanding, and it gives more access and more insight then questionnaires or surveys could ever gain especially in certain situations. But where there are advantages to a method there are also disadvantages as well. An important one looks at the role of the observer and what effect they may have on situation and people that are being observed. This type of problem is one that is very hard to know. There is also...