Systematic Social Observation in the Study of Civil Society Organizations

Abstract

Scholars of civil society organizations (CSOs) have long been concerned with face-to-face interactions among participants at meetings, events, and activities—what we collectively call “convenings.” Small-N ethnographies have uncovered substantial differences in the dynamics of convenings within and across CSOs. Large-N quantitative techniques, however, capture little data on convening dynamics; instead, they rely on questionable proxy measures. How much do dynamics vary across CSO convenings? New research tools are needed to answer this question. We adapt systematic social observation (SSO) to the study of CSO convenings as one such tool. SSO uses trained, independent observers and carefully constructed protocols and forms to collect detailed, standardized, quantitative data from many settings. Here, we illustrate what SSO can capture beyond conventional quantitative approaches using data from a pilot study of collegiate CSO convenings. We argue that SSO data can improve on prior quantitative findings about CSOs and extend research in new directions.