ABSTRACT
Direct observation techniques of information gathering are an important tool for social science inquiry. Direct observation techniques place field researchers in situations that can be both professionally and personally risky. They rely to a greater degree than other methods on the judgment and skills of individual researchers, and can, in some circumstances, cause researchers to confront directly the difficult questions of personal and professional ethics. Researchers must rely to some degree on others experience with the political events they are seeking to understand. Political scientists, though, often choose not to use direct observation, even when it is appropriate and possible, because they question its scientific validity. In unobtrusive research, subjects are unaware of being observed and, therefore, unlikely to alter their natural behaviors in response to the research itself. In obtrusive observation, the researchers or trained assistants request permission to observe subjects and are identified as observers at the time of the data collection.
