April 7th, 2021
SOCI2151H Week 12: Unobtrusive Research: Role of the Researcher
Reading: Chapter 9
The role of the researcher in qualitative field research
● Full participant: completely immersed in the community studied
● Complete observer: no participation (can disguise self as a participant instead of
admitting to being a researcher)
● Ethical dilemma: deception, an ethical and scientific issue
● Reactivity: subjects may react/modify their behaviour/responses unnaturally
○ Subjects could kick the researcher out, be more respectful, or abandon an
otherwise set plan altogether
○ Conversely, the researcher’s participation may alter social processes (if
the weren’t there at all)
○ Must do your research prior to entering the field (always be informed!)
○ Must check for objectivity
■ Not going to be pure but do your best
■ Requires practice
Textbook example: Daniel Wolf (1991) Calgary Outlaw Motorcycle Club
● Research questions: how did they see themselves, and how did they collectively
create their subculture?
○ Great difficulty gaining access, but always learning something just by
being in the field
■ You NEED an in
○ Had prior knowledge as to how the motorcycle gang was viewed in society
○ Bought a Harley motorcycle and wore appropriate clothing (denim or
leather)
● “He flattened my nose and began choking me. Unable to get air down my throat
and breathing only blood through my nostrils, I managed a body punch that
luckily found his solar plexus and loosened his grip. I then grabbed one of his
hands and pulled back on the thumb until I heard the joint break. Mistake number
2: it was time to move on”
● Eventually got an in with the Rebels gang
● Completely changed his entrance strategy (got invited to drink with them and go
for rides with them because he just casually brought up bikes with a few
members
● “Brotherhood, I came to learn, is the foundation of the outlaw club community. It
establishes among members a sense of moral, emotional, and material
interdependence and commitment. The enduring emotion of brotherhood is
comradeship. To a patch holder, brotherhood means being there when needed;
SOCI2151H Week 12: Unobtrusive Research: Role of the Researcher
Reading: Chapter 9
The role of the researcher in qualitative field research
● Full participant: completely immersed in the community studied
● Complete observer: no participation (can disguise self as a participant instead of
admitting to being a researcher)
● Ethical dilemma: deception, an ethical and scientific issue
● Reactivity: subjects may react/modify their behaviour/responses unnaturally
○ Subjects could kick the researcher out, be more respectful, or abandon an
otherwise set plan altogether
○ Conversely, the researcher’s participation may alter social processes (if
the weren’t there at all)
○ Must do your research prior to entering the field (always be informed!)
○ Must check for objectivity
■ Not going to be pure but do your best
■ Requires practice
Textbook example: Daniel Wolf (1991) Calgary Outlaw Motorcycle Club
● Research questions: how did they see themselves, and how did they collectively
create their subculture?
○ Great difficulty gaining access, but always learning something just by
being in the field
■ You NEED an in
○ Had prior knowledge as to how the motorcycle gang was viewed in society
○ Bought a Harley motorcycle and wore appropriate clothing (denim or
leather)
● “He flattened my nose and began choking me. Unable to get air down my throat
and breathing only blood through my nostrils, I managed a body punch that
luckily found his solar plexus and loosened his grip. I then grabbed one of his
hands and pulled back on the thumb until I heard the joint break. Mistake number
2: it was time to move on”
● Eventually got an in with the Rebels gang
● Completely changed his entrance strategy (got invited to drink with them and go
for rides with them because he just casually brought up bikes with a few
members
● “Brotherhood, I came to learn, is the foundation of the outlaw club community. It
establishes among members a sense of moral, emotional, and material
interdependence and commitment. The enduring emotion of brotherhood is
comradeship. To a patch holder, brotherhood means being there when needed;
