Observation Assignment

The heart of sociology is social research.  During the early part of the semester we will be learning terms and theories of social research. Part of your learning about social research is to do a mini research project and a research paper (see research paper link for details).  The mini research project (observation assignment) begins at the start of the semester and continues the entire semester.  You CANNOT lump this project together at the end, nor can you skip any of the parts as they all tie together.  So for example if you do not turn in part one on time, you still have to do it to be able to complete part two, but you will not earn your points for part one.

To be able to do social research you must observe people either formally or informally.  Our observation assignment will involve informal observation (that way we do not have to get people's permission).  Please be aware that all of your comments and homework will be read not only by me, but by all the students so DO NOT say anything you do not want people to know.  Make sure to hang on to all parts of the assignment because again, this stretches over the entire semester and you will need all parts to complete it at the end.  Make sure to let me know if you have questions.  Good luck and have fun!

PART ONE
Your first step is to actually observe.  Follow the directions listed, and be sure to pay attention to the due dates on the weekly schedule.

1. Go to a public place (like a McDonalds/Burger King, Park, Concert, Sporting Event, Mall) and sit yourself down for a minimum of an hour.  Make sure to pick a place that you have either never been or is a version of a place you frequent but is in a different geographic area than you usually frequent. (The burger king down the street that you eat at twice a week will not work) Be adventurous go somewhere really really different from where you would normally go (please note however safety is an issue, do not go somewhere that either obviously puts you in danger or even makes you feel like you are in danger)
2. As you sit there for your hour, observe what the people around you are doing (so obviously you must pick a spot that has a lot of people).
3. Take notes.  I expect you to be constantly scribbling while you are there.  You can take a few minutes to orient yourself in the beginning or obviously don't write while you are looking at something really interesting, but otherwise you should be always writing something down.  Notice I'm not telling you what to write, just write what you observe
4. When you come back home (it's best to do this immediately otherwise cryptic notes that you wrote yourself that you are just sure you will remember later suddenly become incomprehensible) rewrite your notes.
5. Type your notes up into a sequence form.  The form is your choice it can be either chronological (i.e. at 12:04 p.m. this happened) or sectional (all of this kind of behavior, then a section about another kind of behavior).  Once you have it all nicely typed up MAKE SURE your name is on it at the top and then post it to the message board in the "observation assignment part one" conference
6. This stage of the observation assignment must be completed by the end of week two (see the weekly schedule) and is worth 15 of the 50 points.
7. For fun if you would like (this is optional) about halfway through your observation break a folkway or norm and see what happens (make sure you choose something that will not piss off the people around you!) Examples from past observations have included riding backward in an elevator or putting socks on one's hands while eating in a public place.

PART TWO
O.k. here is where the sociology comes in.  O.k., really, you have been doing sociology all along, but now we are going to actually label it with actual sociological terms.

1. Reread your original observation notes and your original observation part one posting.
2. You are now going to retype your original assignment, but this time you are going to apply your sociological knowledge that you have been learning
3. I expect you to use SPECIFIC sociological terms and theoretical concepts.  By the time this assignment is due you will have done your social research lesson, your culture and socialization lessons, your social structure lessons, your social network lessons, and your deviance lessons.  I expect that you will be able to section out specific examples of different sociological phenomena and label it appropriately.
4. At the end of the paper do a couple of paragraphs comparing and contrasting your first draft with this draft.  What are the differences (besides the obvious I didn't know sociology in the beginning) between the two?  Do you think your attitude is different?  If you had done part one of this assignment after all your sociology lessons do you think it would have turned out differently, or the same?  Why?
5. Post this assignment to "observation assignment part two" conference on the message board.
6. This part of the assignment is worth 35 points and is due near the end of the semester