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Observation Setting:

What would be some ethical issues/problems when observing a public setting like a restaurant?

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4 answers

What are you observing?

It would be almost impossible to know about relationships in a public setting.
The assignment is to observe everything. Like the behaviors of people, what they're doing, how they act.

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I don't see any ethical problems in observing people in a public place.
What about, as the observer, you are not supposed to interact with, or interfere with what you are only observing. However, during your observation, you see some type of abuse occur. Ethical dilemma--do you maintain your posture as observer only, or do you report? Also, what about privacy issues, perhaps even HIPAA violations (in the event that the other patrons were discussing their health issues)?