To study the homeless population in Jackson, Mississippi, Joseph Ewoodzie chose participant observation as his research method. This was a good choice because he did not have a specific hy- pothesis to test, nor did he know at the outset exactly what the questions or issues would turn out to be. Ewoodzie was able to complete his study for very little money, although he had to spend long days for many months in the field. By moving to Jackson and then both participating in and observing the social life at the city’s facilities for homeless people, Ewoodzie gradually was able to build an understanding and to prepare a detailed description of the way of life typical of the city’s homeless population. Check Your Learning Give an example of a topic for so- ciological research that would be best studied using (1) an ex- periment, (2) a survey, and (3) participant observation.
To study the homeless population in Jackson, Mississippi, Joseph
Ewoodzie chose participant observation as his research method.
This was a good choice because he did not have a specific hy-
pothesis to test, nor did he know at the outset exactly what the
questions or issues would turn out to be. Ewoodzie was able to
complete his study for very little money, although he had to spend
long days for many months in the field. By moving to Jackson and
then both participating in and observing the social life at the city’s
facilities for homeless people, Ewoodzie gradually was able to build
an understanding and to prepare a detailed description of the way of
life typical of the city’s homeless population.
Check Your Learning Give an example of a topic for so-
ciological research that would be best studied using (1) an ex-
periment, (2) a survey, and (3) participant observation.
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