Observation is the method of data collection through closely looking into matters and intimately deducing facts. It is a participatory study, because the researcher has to immerse herself in the setting where her respondents are, while taking notes and/or recording. While observing the site concerned or the topic in question, one cannot not pay attention to the subtle details. She should be able join the dots and derive a conclusion from all the clues that she has got. It helps if the researcher has innate knowledge of the subject which further lubricates the process of observation.
The movie “Rear Window” by Alfred Hitchcock is a masterpiece when it comes to showing-off observational skills. The protagonist (Jeff) used to watch over his neighbours since he was housebound due to a leg fracture. There are a series of events that happened one after the other – one night during a thunderstorm, he overheard a woman screaming and then the sound of breaking glass followed by Thorwald (the suspect) leaving his apartment, carrying a suitcase while it was raining cats and dogs. The morning after that he noticed that the suspect’s wife was gone and he was cleaning a large knife and handsaw. Later the protagonist saw the man moving away a large trunk tied with rope. Soon after, the neighbour’s dog is found dead with its neck broken. When the body was discovered and everyone was panic-stricken, the man sat with his cigar, unmoved. Jeff was sanguine that Thorwald buried something incriminating in the courtyard flower bed, and killed the dog to stop it digging there. Jeff, to his amazement found Lisa in Jeff’s apartment. She was there to look for clues and when saw her, her hands were pointing to her finger with Mrs. Thorwald’s wedding ring on it.
Thorwald was later caught trying to kill Jeff, furthermore he confessed his crime of killing his wife as well. From the entire scenario we can conclude that one has to have a keen eye for hints and a sharp mind to form a complete picture out of it.
I as a person like to observe people over a period of time to, if I may say so, kind of judge them so that it is easier for me to deal with them. If there is any trait or quality which I feel is harmful for me, I would like to maintain distance in certain circumstances. Besides, I prefer to fall back on past experiences and assume their actions accordingly. People act differently emotionally in different situations, according to the people around them, react to certain stimulus depending on the source, therefore, it is essential to consider everything before passing a random judgement or looking down upon anyone in particular.
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