Preparing Reports
Guide to Local
Religious Organizations
Link to Religious
News
Class Mailing List
Most people know little about religious groups outside their own faith tradition. While it is possible to learn about other groups through readings and viewing video tapes, this course encourages learning through direct observation. For most students, the typical observation will consist of attendance at the regularly scheduled hour of worship of the group being observed. Most religious organizations, however, have various kinds of meetings during the week and these may also be the subject of observation.
The more observations you do, and the greater the diversity of those observations, the greater will be your learning experience.
I encourage you to do as many as you can. At minimum, you should plan to do an observation on the average of every other week of the term. If you put a lot of effort into this requirement, you'll probably want to count this assignment for maximum credit. But keep in mind that effort is not measured simply in terms of the number of observations. It is equally important that you develop observational skills, record your observations, and integrate your learning from observation with conceptual materials in the readings and lectures.
While I have consistently rejected student's requests to specify a minimum number of observations, for those who need a little more structure in their lives, I recommend that at minimum you plan to do observations on the average of every other week during the term (i.e., six to eight observations). That is the modal range of students who have previously been enrolled in this course.
Sociological observation involves more than sharing time and space with others who are engaged in some activity. One needs to develop a sensitivity to the environment and what is happening. Further, it is important that you record observations within a reasonably short time of each observation. Unless one sharpens one's observational skills and faithfully records what they have observed, the capacity to make meaningful comparisons at the end of the term will be very significantly diminished.
To provide you with a starting point for what you ought to be observing and recording, see the
"Religious Service Observational Guide" below. [This observational protocol was developed by Roger Finke, Department of Sociology, Purdue University. My thanks to Mr. Finke for permitting us to use this guide for this class.]The Guide is presented in outline form. You can download it and then edit it to meet your own needs. You can make multiple hard copies, or recopy each time you sit down to do field notes.
You are also encouraged to examine the comments and guidelines of several other professors regarding what do look for when you observe religious gatherings.
Whether you use this observational protocol, one of the others available, or develop you own, it is essential that you develop a standardized set of questions that you seek to record information about each time. Without standardized information, your ability to make comparisons is seriously diminished. This doesn't mean that you can't record information that is not on your standardized instrument. Indeed, if you observe something that you have not previously noted, record it. Then try to recall whether this phenomenon may have been present before, or are you seeing something for the first time.
The most important rule of conduct for those doing field observations is to exercise common sense. Assuming common sense, you are very unlikely to encounter any problems. But there are a few explicit rules that you should always follow:
Remember, your field observation work is not done until you have recorded your observations.
The sooner you record your observations, the more detail you'll be able to recall. This is important when it comes time to prepare your paper. Let's assume for example, that you think you have noted a relationship between the social class of groups and how the professional leaders dress. You go to your notes and discover that you have recorded information about dress for some groups but not others. You may have failed to mention that Catholic priests wore robes because you are a Catholic and took that for granted. But what about the dress of the Presbyterian clergywoman? If you failed to mention that she wore a robe, can you infer that she did not?
The more time passes after observation, the more difficulty we have in recalling details. And, the mind is capable of imagining things that we really didn't observe. So keep good notes as you go along. Your capacity to make comparisons will greatly enhanced. And, you will write a better paper.
There is no "best" way to record filed observations, but it is clear that comprehensive notes are better than thin notes. You should be discrete in taking notes during a service. Remember, your note taking could be disruptive to the person beside you. Often a word or two now and then will be more than adequate to help you recall great details-providing you return to those notes when you leave the service.
Instructions
The "Religious Services Observational Guide" is the starting point for you to
develop your own protocol for taking field notes. Modify as you like, but you should use
the same protocol for the key notes each time you make an observation.
To make sure you get started on the right foot, you will be required to turn in your field
notes for one or two obseervations at class time on September 19. This is a graded
assignment and failure to complete the assignment will result in a grade of zero.
Criteria for evaluation will be as follows:
Grades will be based on a five point scale as follows:
5 = outstanding
4 = good
3 = meets expectations
2 = fails to meet expectations
1 = unsatisfactory
This early reporting does not count a lot toward your final grade (5%) but it is an
important milestone. If you begin by doing quality work, you're likely to continue doing
so. If your work falls below the instructor's expectations, you'll know early rather than
late when its too late to improve your work.
The Interim Report is due at the midpoint in the semester. By this time you should have completed approximately half of your observations and given some thought to your plans to round out your program of research. If you have completed three or less observations to this point, you need to consider whether you are really interested in this assignment, and perhaps, take certain action. If this is not something you are enjoying, better to drop the course than stick with something that doesn't really interest you.
Your final reporting of your field research is due the last day of class and should consist of two separate parts:
Observation Notes
Your notes should be organized in the order of your observations. Field notes should be
presented in a standardized and logical sequence. The reader of your notes should be able
both to get a good idea of what happened at each observation and be able to skip through
several observations with ease to locate parallel information.
The portfolio should also include information you gathered in conjunction with your
observation. Some smaller churches may not have a church bulletin, but most will. In
addition, many churches have special material about their denomination or local programs
that are available to visitors. In preparation for your observation, you may want to check
out the home page of the denomination. All of these materials are appropriate things to
include in your observation note portfolio.
Observational Paper
There is no single format for a successful final paper. Some students have demonstrated
how the key sociological concepts of the course come to life in the observations. On the
other hand, some students have found the experience to be very personal and have shared
their feelings as to how the observations helped them come to some deeper understanding of
themselves, their families, or culture. Others have elected to focus on some theme, eg.
Comparing the role of women in the gorups observed.
The best papers tell the story of what the student learned as a result of the
observations. As individuals, we bring many things to this experience, so we would expect
many different outcomes. Sometimes good papers are personal narratives that tell the story
of a journey in which we are part scholar, part spiritual being. Other times good papers
are highly analytical, demonstrating that the student learned how to "think
sociologically." In short, there are many ways to write a good paper.
If there is one type of paper that is not particularly interesting to read, it is a purely
descriptive account of the churches one attended. When I finish them there is seldom any
doubt that the student was just going through the motions. You don't have to be a believer
to be interested in religion. But if you know you're not interested in religion, don't put
yourself through the experiment to prove it to yourself.
Stephen Warner is a very good sociologist of religion at the University of Illinois
(Circle Campus). His students attend religious services all over the Chicago metropolitan
area. The attached is a memorandum he wrote to his students about preparing their progress
on field observations. While the references to specific readings and experiences, the
general tone and orientation of the memorandum is instructive. I encourage you to read it
early and then read it again later in the term. I think it will help you think about your
task.