OBSERVATION ASSIGNMENT

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). Make sure to hang on to all parts of the assignment because 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 any questions. Good luck and have fun!

PART ONE – worth 10 points (See class schedule for due date.) Your first step is to actually observe. Follow the directions listed.

1. Go to a public place (like McDonalds/Burger King, park, concert, sporting event, mall) and sit down for a minimum of one 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. (If you want to observe community college students, don’t do your observation at Citrus College. You can go to a different college and observe the quad areas during lunch time, for example.). You can be adventurous with this; go somewhere 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 at least an 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, but otherwise you should be always writing something down. Notice I’m not telling you what to write; just write what you observe. I would say you should have at least 2 full pages of notes in order to obtain enough information to write this paper.
   
4. Rewrite your notes when you come back home (it’s best to do this immediately; otherwise cryptic notes that you wrote yourself may become incomprehensible when it comes time to write your paper).
   
5. Rewrite your notes up into a sequence form. The form is your choice; it can be either chronological (i.e., at 12:04 pm this happened) or sectional (all of one 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. This stage of the observation assignment is worth 10 of the 60 points.

PART TWO – worth 50 points (See class schedule for due date.)
Here is where the sociology comes in. Now you are actually going to label what you observed with actual sociological terms.

1. Reread your original observation notes and your original observation part one.
   
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 apply at least ten specific sociological concepts throughout this paper.
   
4. I expect you to use SPECIFIC sociological terms and theoretical concepts. By the time this assignment is due, you will have read many chapters and have had lectures on them. I expect that you will be able to section out specific examples of different sociological phenomena and label them appropriately. I also expect you to expand upon each sociological concept.
   
5. The main things I am looking for in this paper is your ability to appropriately apply sociological concepts to your observation and to accurately explain the meaning of each course concept in your own words.
   
6. 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? Basically, what did you learn in this course? Wrap this paper up explaining how your point of view may have changed and what you noticed now that you have taken this class.
   
7. This part of the assignment is worth 50 points.

• Completed papers should be 4-5 pages, typed, double-spaced, 12-point (Times New Roman font in black ink) with 1” margins.
• Papers must be stapled, no covers.
• Create a cover page for your project:
  • Your name
  • Introduction to Sociology (SOC 201)
  • Title
  • Due date
• Pages MUST be numbered.
• Grammar, spelling, and format are important. Be sure to use your spell/grammar check and proofread your work. Proper spelling & grammar are important indicators of a well-prepared paper. Excessive errors will result in a reduction of points.
• This is an academic paper; therefore the explanations must be written in formal language (avoid slang and limit contractions, such as can’t, don’t, and won’t).
• Late papers will not be accepted. No exceptions.

OBSERVATION SUGGESTIONS

• Fast food restaurant
• Coffee house
• Bar
• Concert
• Sporting event
• College (NOT Citrus)
• Public library
• Grocery store
• Shopping mall
• Cafeteria or food court
• Bus station
• Church service
• Tattoo parlor
• Hospital
• Airport
• Gym
• Restaurant
• Night club
• Casino
• Beach Areas
  • Santa Monica Pier
  • Venice Beach