Question

list any three advantage and any three limitions of observation as a method of collecting data

Answer 1

Hi, this question is very much subjective as well and hence i am answering this on basis of my experience on statistics and data science.

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Advantages of Observation:

(1) Simplest Method:

Observation is probably the most common and the simplest method of data collection. It does not require much technical knowledge. Although scientific controlled observation requires some technical skill of the researcher, still it is easier than other methods. Everybody in this world observes many things in their daily life. A little training can make a person perfect, to observe his surroundings.

(2) Useful for Framing Hypothesis:

Observation is one of the main bases of formulating hypothesis. By observing a phenomenon continuously, the researcher may get well acquainted with the observed. He came to know about their habits, likes, dislikes, problems, perception, different activities and so many other things. All these help him a lot to form a hypothesis on them. Any researcher, therefore, has to be a good observer.

(3) Greater Accuracy:

In other methods like interview, questionnaire etc., the researcher has to depend on information provided by the respondents. So these are indirect methods and here the investigator does not have any means to examine the accuracy of the data supplied by them. But in observation the observer can directly check the accuracy from the observed. He can apply various devices to test the reliability of their behaviour. So very often the data collected through observation is more reliable than these collected through interview or questionnaire.

(4) An Universal Method:

Observation is a common method used in all sciences, whether physical or social. So it has greater universality of practice. As a common method, it is very easily followed and accepted.

(5) Observation is the Only Appropriate Tool for Certain Cases:

Observation can deal with phenomena which are not capable of giving verbal information about their behaviour, feeling and activities simply for the reason that they cannot speak e.g. infants or animals. Observation is indispensable for studies on infants who can neither understand the quarries of the researcher nor express themselves clearly. In the case of animals observation is the only way out. For deaf and dumb persons, for serious cases of abnormality or mad persons, for non-cooperative persons, for too shy persons and for persons who do not understand the language of researcher, observation will be the only appropriate tool.

(6) Independent of People’s Willingness to Report:

Observation does not require the willingness of the people to provide various information about them. Often some respondents do not like to speak about themselves to an outsider. Some people do not have time or required skill to provide important information to the researcher. Although observation cannot always overcome such problems, still relatively speaking it requires less active co-operation and willingness of respondents. Observation is ever possible without the knowledge of the respondents.

Limitations of Observation:

(1) Some of the Occurrences may not be Open to Observation:

There are many personal behaviours or secret activities which are not open for observation. For example, no couple will allow the researcher to observe their sexual activities. In most of the cases people do not allow the outsider to study their activities.

(2) Not all Occurrences Open to Observation can be Observed when Observer is at Hand:

Such problems arise because of the uncertainty of the event. Many social events are very much uncertain in nature. It is a difficult task on the part of the researcher to determine their time and place. The event may take place in the absence of the observer. On the other hand, it may not occur in the constant presence of the observer. For example, the quarrel and fight between two individuals or groups is never certain. Nobody knows when such an event will take place.

(3) Not all Occurrences Lend Themselves to Observational Study:

Most of the social phenomenon is abstract in nature. For example, love, affection, feeling and emotion of parents towards their children are not open to our senses and also cannot be quantified by observational techniques. The researcher may employ other methods like case study; interview etc. to study such phenomena.

(4) Lack of Reliability:

Because social phenomena cannot be controlled or used for laboratory experiments, generalizations made by observation method are not very reliable. The relative-ness of the social phenomena and the personal bias of the observer again create difficulty for making valid generalization in observation. P.V. Young remarks that in observation, no attempt is made to use instruments of precision to check the accuracy of the phenomenon.

(5) Faulty Perception:

Observation is a highly technical job. One is never sure that what he is observing is the same as it appears to his eyes. Two persons may judge the same phenomena differently. One person may find something meaningful and useful from a situation but the other may find nothing from it. Only those observers who are having the technical knowledge about the observation can make scientific observation.

(6) Personal Bias of the Observer:

The personal bias, personal view or looking at things in a particular way often creates obstacle for making valid generalization. The observer may have his own ideas of right and wrong or he may have different pre-conceptions regarding an event which kills the objectivity in social research.

(7) Slow Investigation:

Observation is a time taking process. P.V. Young rightly remarks that the valid observation cannot be hurried; we cannot complete our investigation in a short period through observation. It sometimes reduces the interest of both observer and observed to continue their observation process.

(8) Expensive:

Observation is a costly affair. It requires high cost, plenty of time and hard effort. Observation involves travelling, staying at the place of phenomena and purchasing of sophisticated equipment’s. Because of this it is called as one of the most expensive methods of data collection.

(9) Difficulty in Checking Validity:

Checking the validity of observation is always difficult. Many of the phenomena of observation cannot be defined with sufficient precision and does not help in drawing a valid generalization. The lack of competence of the observer may hamper validity and reliability of observation.