Definition of Detached Observation
(noun) An approach to research that employs emotional detachment coupled with limited interaction and the creation of categories for classifying observations.
Example of Detached Observation
- Researching types of behavior expressed by football fans by only viewing recordings.
Detached Observation Pronunciation
Syllabification: de·tached ob·ser·va·tion
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /di-tAcht ahb-suhr-vAY-shuhn/
- British English – /di-tAcht ob-zuh-vAY-shuhn/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /dɪˈtæʧt ˌɑbzərˈveɪʃən/
- British English – /dɪˈtæʧt ˌɒbzə(ː)ˈveɪʃən/
Usage Notes
- Plural: detached observations
- Detached observation is contrasted to participant observation.
- Detached observation is important to maintain objectivity.
- A (noun) detached observer uses detached observation to research a social scene.
Additional Information
- Qualitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
- Word origin of “detach” and “observation” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
Related Terms
- anthropology
- data
- field experiment
- field notes
- field research
- methodology
- observation
- participant observation
- qualitative research
- study
- subjectivity
Works Consulted
Abercrombie, Nicholas, Stephen Hill, and Bryan Turner. 2006. The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology. 5th ed. London: Penguin.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. 5th ed. 2011. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Bruce, Steve, and Steven Yearley. 2006. The SAGE Dictionary of Sociology. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Collins English Dictionary: Complete and Unabridged. 6th ed. 2003. Glasgow, Scotland: Collins.
Jary, David, and Julia Jary. 2000. Collins Dictionary of Sociology. 3rd ed. Glasgow, Scotland: HarperCollins.
Macmillan. (N.d.) Macmillan Dictionary. (https://www.macmillandictionary.com/).
Merriam-Webster. (N.d.) Merriam-Webster Dictionary. (http://www.merriam-webster.com/).
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Princeton University. 2010. WordNet. (https://wordnet.princeton.edu/).
Random House Webster’s College Dictionary. 1997. New York: Random House.
Scott, John, and Gordon Marshall. 2005. A Dictionary of Sociology. New York: Oxford University Press.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).
Cite the Definition of Detached Observation
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “detached observation.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved March 25, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/detached-observation/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
detached observation. (2014). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/detached-observation/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2014. “detached observation.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed March 25, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/detached-observation/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“detached observation.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/detached-observation/>.