Limitations of Observation.

 

Limitations of Observation:-

(1) Some of the Occurrences may not be Open to Observation: There are many personal behaviours or secret activities which are not open for observation. For example, no couple will allow the researcher to observe their sexual activities. In most of the cases people do not allow the outsider to study their activities.

(2) Not all Occurrences Open to Observation can be Observed when Observer is at Hand: Such problems arise because of the uncertainty of the event. Many social events are very much uncertain in nature. It is a difficult task on the part of the researcher to determine their time and place. The event may take place in the absence of the observer. On the other hand, it may not occur in the constant presence of the observer. For example, the quarrel and fight between two individuals or groups is never certain. Nobody knows when such an event will take place.

(3) Not all Occurrences Lend Themselves to Observational Study: Most of the social phenomenon is abstract in nature. For example, love, affection, feeling and emotion of parents towards their children are not open to our senses and also cannot be quantified by observational techniques. The researcher may employ other methods like case study; interview etc. to study such phenomena.

(4) Lack of Reliability: Because social phenomena cannot be controlled or used for laboratory experiments, generalizations made by observation method are not very reliable. The relative-ness of the social phenomena and the personal bias of the observer again create difficulty for making valid generalization in observation. P.V. Young remarks that in observation, no attempt is made to use instruments of precision to check the accuracy of the phenomenon.

(5) Faulty Perception: Observation is a highly technical job. One is never sure that what he is observing is the same as it appears to his eyes. Two persons may judge the same phenomena differently. One person may find something meaningful and useful from a situation but the other may find nothing from it. Only those observers who are having the technical knowledge about the observation can make scientific observation.

(6) Personal Bias of the Observer: The personal bias, personal view or looking at things in a particular way often creates obstacle for making valid generalization. The observer may have his own ideas of right and wrong or he may have different pre-conceptions regarding an event which kills the objectivity in social research.

(7) Slow Investigation: Observation is a time taking process. P.V. Young rightly remarks that the valid observation cannot be hurried; we cannot complete our investigation in a short period through observation. It sometimes reduces the interest of both observer and observed to continue their observation process.

(8) Expensive: Observation is a costly affair. It requires high cost, plenty of time and hard effort. Observation involves travelling, staying at the place of phenomena and purchasing of sophisticated equipment’s. Because of this it is called as one of the most expensive methods of data collection.

(9) Inadequate Method: According to P.V. Young, “the full answers cannot be collected by observation alone”. Therefore many suggested that observation must be supplemented by other methods also.

(10) Difficulty in Checking Validity: Checking the validity of observation is always difficult. Many of the phenomena of observation cannot be defined with sufficient precision and does not help in drawing a valid generalization. The lack of competence of the observer may hamper validity and reliability of observation.