Participant Observation

Participant observation research involves researchers going into an environment and monitoring what is happening naturally. For instance, a researcher who wants to explore male and female flirting patterns and alcohol might watch interactions between men and women in bars. This would entail several visits and specific note taking on all that occurs. However, it is difficult to generalize from this type of research because the re­searcher could subtly, or not so subtly, influence the research findings. Also, much of sex­ual behavior occurs in private, where researchers have no access.