Advantages and Limitations
The main advantage of direct observation is that an event, institution, facility, or
process can be studied in its natural setting, thereby providing a richer understanding
of the subject.
For example, an evaluation team that visits microenterprises is likely to better understand their nature, problems, and successes after directly observing their products, technologies, employees, and processes, than by relying solely on documents or key informant interviews. Another advantage is that it may reveal conditions, problems, or patterns many informants may be unaware of or unable to describe adequately.
On the negative side, direct observation is susceptible to observer bias. The very act
of observation also can affect the behavior being studied.
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