Total of Three Paragraphs: A One-Paragraph Analysis

¶ … Total of Three Paragraphs:

A one-paragraph analysis of the strengths and limitations of observation as a data collection method.

Your two-paragraph observation of the photograph, identifying which photograph you chose (if the instructor did not select one for the class).

Strengths and limitations of observation as a data collection method

Observation has the great advantage of being unmediated by any filters: it is completely unfiltered by secondary criticism. An observer may spot something no one has previously seen: this is how new theories may be discovered and new art may be created. Skillful observation can also reinforce the veracity of existing theories in a potent fashion. However, there are also serious problems with observation as a means of collecting data. Observers may be biased, and their preexisting prejudices may affect how they perceive information. Researchers may have an inherent tendency to want to see things in a manner which confirms their initial hypothesis. Also, cultural differences can impact the accuracy of observations. An American might perceive someone from an Asian culture as being very unemotional in an observed dialogue, for example, but the expressions of emotion of the person from another culture might simply be communicated in a different way than they are in the observer's culture. Accurate observational data requires acute self-consciousness on the part of the researcher and sometimes not even this is enough to overcome its limitations (Knight-Lynn 2013).

I chose to observe a photograph of an empty lecture hall or conference room. The hall is structured in a circular fashion like an amphitheater, and students are able to sit at interconnected linoleum desks while they listen to the professor lecture. A large television screen hangs above the room. A wooden podium with controls for the audio-visual material sits in the middle of the center of the stage.

This classroom design reflects the Socratic Method common at many American universities. Students are able to see the professor as he or she lectures and the professor has a good view of all of the students' faces because of the circular nature of the room. The professor can thus call upon the students easily to see if they have done their work; the students can follow the lectures of the professor easily as well because all of the seats are designed to keep their focus upon the teacher. The room has no windows, further intensifying the centrality of the students' gaze on the teacher. The relatively modern materials of the room (linoleum, shiny, new wood and padded seats) indicate that the classroom was constructed very recently. The large television and audio-visual controls likewise supports a date of very recent construction. All of these observations indicate that much can be revealed through a close observation about a photograph, namely the intellectual assumptions of a particular society about how students should be educated; the role of technology in education; and the degree to which it thinks students should be comfortable while learning. However, my ability to make accurate observations was undeniably enhanced by the fact that I am from the culture that produced both the photograph and also the subject of the photograph itself.