Here is the note about my field observation in Sweet Shop.
It is a shining afternoon at 2:43 on Thursday. The weather and sunshine is wonderful for people to stay outside even in early cold Feb. The observation site I chose is the sweet shop. There are 22 people there, 7 outside, 15 inside; 5 males and 17 females. 3 are eating their lunch or snacks, 5 brings their own drinks, and others are consuming drinks there. Inside the shop, 8 people are finishing their personal work individually, two ladies are chatting casually inside the couch near the reception desk, two ladies are collaborating something on one table, and one couple are sitting near the door having sweet chatting. Outside the sweetshop, only one 40-year-old women is typing something on her laptop and listening to music. Another guy with black jacket, black glasses, and black hat seems watching something in front of him, not clear. Two males are chatting, standing up and exchanging information. One male, and two ladies are chatting and bursting some laughters beside them.
REFLECTION
First of all, it is very hard to guarantee “unobtrusive observation” in a restaurant. Although I tried to keep my research questions in advance, and quickly glanced surrounding environments, still people there noticed my “somehow awkward” behavior to look around. There were at least 2 ladies looking at me for two seconds. I think the difficulties to make it “unobtrusive” are also reflected in Cheryl’s and Anna’s observations.
Another reflection I have from our readings is the systematic techniques related to ethnography. You have limited time and the information in the environment is unlimited. It is interesting to see that everyone has different focuses on what they’d like to describe in their field notes. Are there some common rules to cover what should be and shouldn’t be included in the field notes?
Biyang YU
