Unobtrusive Methods in Social Research

ABSTRACT

Unobtrusive methods in social research are an interesting aspect of the broader qualitative procedures in social science research which seek answers to questions by examining in non – intrusive manner various social settings and the individuals who inhabit these settings. Qualitative researchers are most interested in the day to day activities of a people, how humans arrange themselves and their settings and how inhabitants of or in a particular location make sense of their surroundings through various aspects of traditions and culture, such as symbols, rituals, social structures, social roles, among others. In order not to interfere with the nature, cultural and traditional fabric of a people, research procedures that require a non-intrusioninto the lives of a subject are often encouraged in social research. Researcher reactivity-(theresponse of subjects to the presence of an intruding investigator) has been observed to create a gap as well as losses of vital information with the conditioning of subjects’ behaviour, often without the researcher’s knowledge.