Field Observation of a Child Essay

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Abstract-

This observation was conducted to attempt to answer the following research question: ‘How do football spectators behave and what can cause a change in this behavior?’. The report will outline the main findings from the field observation which are that there are many different reasons why spectators behave the way they do and that there are many different factors in which a spectator’s behavior may be altered. It shows that there is a difference in behavior between the two different areas, corporate hospitality, and retail, and how one person’s behavior can alter that of those around them. With the aid of existing literature on the topic this report shows some already ongoing findings.

Introduction-

This observation was chosen because football is one of the main sports watched and admired by many in today’s society, it brings people together, but it can also cause conflict amongst spectators. This can be seen through spectator violence is often referred to as ‘football hooliganism’, or sometimes as the ‘English disease’. These terms have been more commonly used by the media and by politicians to label deviant behaviors which have become associated with English football from the 1960s to today (Frosdick, et al, 2006). Football hooliganism has been one of the leading factors in the introduction of legislation in the United Kingdom which began with the 1986 Public Order Act and has since been followed by the 1989 Football Supporters Act, the 1991 Football Offences Act, the 1999 Football (Offences and Disorder) Act, and the 2000 Football (Disorder) Act.

As part of these acts we have seen a rise in spectator protection which included things like alcohol bans and perimeter fencing that acted as a cage in segregating fans, however whilst it can be said that the fencing is likely to have prevented disorder within stadiums its did contribute to two major disasters in the 1980s, the first being the fire at Valley Parade in 1985 where 56 fans died due to a discarded cigarette and due to the treat of hooliganism fire extinguishers had been removed for fear of them being used against one another. The second was the Hillsborough disaster in 1989 when 96 supporters died due to the decision to alleviate crushing outside the stadium due to the overestimation of people in the minutes before kick-off, the opening of the gates resulted in thousands of fans rushing toward the middle section of the terraces and crushing those collected near the front by the fencing (Cleland, et al, 2016).

This observation will aim to look at the behavior of spectators to see if there is violence and discord there but to also see if there is still an increase in racism. It will also be looking into the behaviors of how certain spectators behave during a game and if there are any clear indications of what can affect those behaviours to investigate the topic further the following research question was developed ‘How do football spectators behave and what can cause a change in this behavior?’.

Research Design:

What is qualitative research?

Qualitative research has become very influential across many fields of social sciences, it can be defined as a research strategy that emphasizes words rather than quantification in the collection and analysis of data (Hammersley, 2013). Sandelowski says “Qualitative research is an umbrella term for an array of attitudes towards and strategies for conducting an inquiry that is aimed at discovering how human beings understand, experience, interpret, and produce the social world” (Sandelowski, 2004: 893).

Choice of research method-

The choice of observation was made for many different reasons, first of all, a person’s behavior can change if they’re aware that you’re observing them which can therefore affect the data that you’re collecting. Another reason for the choice of observation is that it’s best to collate data from a large number of people in one area and its data that can be collected in public to see how people interact with one another in their day-to-day activities. These are the main reasons why covert observation was chosen rather than that of interviews.

What is being observed?

To be able to answer the research question a covert observation was deemed the best course to see how spectators behave at a football match and if there are any contributing factors to why a person’s behavior may change whilst watching the game. By doing this observation the focus was on; the time, the actors- the role of all involved, the event- what is happening on the scene, the space- the physical layout as well as the atmosphere and overall feeling of the participants.

Collecting the data-

For the research question, the observation had to be discreetly done so that people didn’t notice me and change the way they behaved, this was done through work and by asking my area manager if I could observe at a different football stadium where I would not be working but could blend in to observe the behavior of the spectators around me. If Somebody knows that they are going to be observed, then they are more likely to change their behavior either to play up to the observation purpose or ‘clam up’ and become shy (Lugosi, 2006). To answer the research question, the researcher observed two particular areas, corporate hospitality and the kiosk (Retail).

A sampling of the research –

The observation was recorded with field notes as it was the most discreet way to record data. The position taken by the researcher was of ‘duty manager’ doing their match day checks with a clipboard so as not to stand out and draw attention to themselves, if the participants saw that they were being observed the research would not be conclusive as it may stop all together or people would behave differently. The observations were done across two different match days and two different areas so the researcher could get a clear observation of a person’s behavior and if being in the different areas had an effect on the behavior. The observation was also spread across two days as no one match day is the same as one match could be busier than that of another match, the day on which a game is played may also have an effect which is also why it is spread across two different days.

Barriers faced-

For this study one of the main barriers to the research was the high volume of people to observe and how best to observe them and gain the best I could out of the situation so where best to place myself for the best vantage point. Another barrier was at which game to observe as some games have a higher spectator attendance but may be a ‘quiet’ game whereas a lower attendance may have a ‘rowdy’ crowd, this meant that another barrier was observing across two areas of retail/kiosks and corporate hospitality.

Ethical Considerations-

When using this method of research there needs to be certain things taken into account concerning ethical issues, a researcher needs to know his or her ethical boundaries and the limitations of the area surrounding the study, therefore knowing what is morally right or morally wrong. When doing a cover observation ethical issues aren’t always easy to see. The main value of ethical research for this particular area of study is to make sure that as a researcher we respect the privacy of the participants so make sure that we remain confidential, for this study no names or any other identifiable features were gathered and it is clearly stated on the participant information sheet which was on hand ready to be given out should someone question the reason for the observation and need proof that what was happening was being kept confidential (Spicker, 2011).

Another ethical consideration is to avoid harm to participants, in this particular instance the case study was designed to avoid ethical issues surrounding avoiding harm to participants (Calvey, 2008). There was no physical contact between the researcher and the participants and as the researcher was constantly on the move due to the nature of the environment the observation was limited to 20 minutes in each area where the observation was carried out as any longer may have caused the researcher to be noticed which could have caused the participant unnecessary apprehension or stress. All precautions were taken so as not to intrude upon the privacy of the participants.

Analysis and discussion-

When analyzing the information gathered from the observations many different findings are relevant in helping to answer the question. Whilst undertaking these observations the researcher found that there was a large contrast in the behaviours of spectators across the two different areas studied. Because the observation was carried out in such a large public area, it was interesting to see different behaviors play out and how spectators seemed to bounce off each other, for example, one observation was that whenever there was a goal or a free kick in the teams favor chanting would break out amongst the fans and it would just take one person to start this which changed the behavior of those around them. Another thing I found quite noticeable was that if women and children attending the match in hospitality they were more likely to stay indoors and either watch the game from the screens around the room or sit around on their phones/ tablets compared to the women and children who attended the game through retail and sat in the stands getting involved in the game and the behaviors around them by chanting and shouting when those around them did.

I similarly noticed the different behaviors from big groups of men who attended the game to the families who attended the game, with rowdiness from the larger groups the occasional swear word was heard to which a parent responded with ‘Shut up, can’t you see there are kids here trying to enjoy the game’, this was a phrase quite often heard and whilst usually, the spectators in question quietened down others responded by being louder and ruder which resulted in warnings from nearby stewards. I also observed that behavior was often not only by the results of the game but the alcohol consumed during halftime, it was observed that some spectators would miss the beginning of the second half to ‘down’ another pint or two before proceeding to watch the game again, once back in the stands they often became louder and more ‘rowdy’.

It can be concluded that there are many different reasons for a behavior change, the most noticeable was the difference between the areas and the atmosphere, alcohol, and the actual result of the game if a certain team was winning the crowd would either be joyful or disappointed.

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