Sociology Field Study Report: Cockington Green Gardens Observation

This sociology report details a field study conducted at Cockington Green Gardens, a miniature park in Australia, to understand the nature of social life through observation. The study aimed to identify social patterns, interactions, and the overall structure of the visiting groups. The report outlines the objectives, the location's characteristics, and the observation methods used, focusing on visitors' demographics, activities, and the physical environment. The observations included the types of transportation, ticket prices, the presence of families, and the services offered. The analysis interprets these observations to relate them to social life, such as the targeting of a specific class of people, the symbolism of wealth, and the appreciation of nature. The report concludes with insights on applying observation as a sociological research method and understanding the multifaceted nature of human social life, including the role of different social classes and age groups. The study emphasizes the importance of social interaction and the significance of various aspects of life for human survival.

Running head: INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY
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Name
Lecturer
Course
Date

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Background information
The sociological report is a type of report written from a field study conducted with an
aim of knowing the structure, the development, the social life of a given group of individuals
within a given place, the social patterns of relationship and social interactions and lastly the
functioning of human society at large. (Giddens, 2008)
Introduction
Research problem
The aim of this fieldwork observation was to achieve a common goal of identifying the
kind and nature of social life in which the people within and visiting green space-Cocking ton
Green Gardens which is a park of miniatures, situated in Nicholls, Australian Capital Territory
belonged. Green space-Cocking ton Green Gardens was the areas that I and my group members
selected to be center for our fieldwork.
Objectives of the fieldwork
1. whether and how you can engage sociologically with an aspect of social life
2. whether and how you can apply observation as one of the social research methods that
sociologists use
3. Whether and how you can write about social life from information gained from field
work and specifically through clear observation.
The nature of the location

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From a group agreement, we chose to conduct our field work on green space-Cocking ton
Green Gardens. This is a sort of a park of miniatures which is a family owned property with over
four generation ownership and has its setting based on pure nature. Its setting is designed in a
way providing a naturally cool environment for relaxing, fun and also studying. The many
elements around this garden are very significant in interpreting the setting of the garden. It has
buildings of different structures, shapes, and designs. Other present features are the likes of the
statutes of kangaroos representing the animal part of nature, the gardens, and the green trees
around represent the plantation and vegetation and the controllable machines represent the
human innovation, involvement, and improvement on nature.
Majorly we were focusing on the observable part of the study. We focused on who were
present in the garden environments, what were they doing, what were they using for instance
their means of transport, the amounts different groups of people could spend, the environments
and physical features within green space-Cocking ton Green Gardens, the approximate age
brackets of those in the garden both visitors, staff and owners, the kind of services offered in that
garden, the type of plantation within the overall garden environments and lastly the landmarks.
In the course of our fieldwork, we majored on observation as the method of collecting
data and put down some notes on everything that we collected. This report will show a
description of all what we observed, interpretation and analysis of the collected data together
with how it’s related to social life and how this observation can be used to offer an impression
concerning social life.
Description of activities and observations

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We observed that a total of 32 people had visited the place by purchasing tickets. We
noticed that 14 cars that were valued as classy according to our personal impression were used to
ferry the groups of those attending. We observed that ticket when purchased individually was
very high than that of a family made of 3 people. Some statues of animals like kangaroo and
ostriches were some of the physical features which in this case gave us an impression that this
garden could be embracing the importance of nature and in a way a tourist site.
We noted very many green plantation and flowers within the environments of the green
space-Cocking ton Green Gardens that were been taken good care of. We noted that this site
offered accommodation service but very little of carbonated drinks and milk ice creams were
present. Moreover, we noted that the parking lot was soiled instead of being cemented. Lastly,
we observed that majorly those serving the visitors were of old age. There were more of families
than single visitors and this gave us an impression that this café was embracing family hood and
togetherness.
Interpretation and analysis
From the many observations we made in the course of our fieldwork, we came up with
several interpretations out of the analysis of the observation. These observations enabled us to
relate what we were seeing and give a meaning and explanation as to why it may be so with
respect to social life. To begin with, we observed that green space-Cocking ton Green Gardens
was being attended by families and couples. We related this to be a site that was targeting a
certain class of people who need some time together either for fun or just spend some time
together. We felt that people visiting this place belonged to the almost the same social life
structure and pattern. The kinds of cars that they were using were symbolic of wealth and people

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have some extra coins for leisure. The services offered in green space-Cocking ton Green
Gardens, like the accommodation services, the self-service activities are only associated with
people belonging to wealth social status.
In addition to that, most of the observations we made were closely related to the beauty
of the natural environment, agriculture, and ecology. The green vegetation made up of beautiful
trees, maize and busy gardeners in flower gardens very much symbolized the social life of people
in that area. People around green space-Cocking ton Green Gardens and all those visited the area
must be having something in common and this is the love of nature and agriculture. This means
that the social life of this people is structured to accommodate and appreciate the beauty of
nature. Other supportive observable features include the statutes of animals like the kangaroo,
statutes of farming machines like the tractors, statutes of boats placed in very cool waters within
the place.
From the field study, we can relate that this area represents the social setting of the nature
of the human social life. From all components, we observed in the course of our field, concluded
that human social life is made of many aspects. We need different aspects of these for survival.
For instance very few people we walking alone in the garden environments, many people we in
the company of their loved ones and their families. We also noted that life is made of many
social classes and people of different ages and social status. Each group of these people has a
role to play in the social life of the other. An example of this is the situation where we noted that
the green space-Cocking ton Green Gardens was managed by old ages people, and the visitors
were families and couples and those working around the farms were middle-level people in terms
of social class.

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Conclusion and recommendation
The observation we made was very important and opened our minds on the
understanding on the social life on how you can apply observation as one of the social research
methods that sociologists use within this area and any other similar location. The study also
helped us gain knowledge. Lastly, it enabled us to learn how you can engage sociologically with
an aspect of social life. (Bilton, 2009)

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References
Bilton, T. (2009). Introductory Sociology. Macmillan, 1996.
Duneier, M. (2014). Essentials of Sociology. W.W. Norton, 2008.
Giddens, A. (2008). An Introduction to Sociology. W. W. Norton, Incorporated, 2000.
Griffiths, S. (2017). Sociology. Polity, 2006.
Macionis, J. j. (2012). Society: The Basics. Prentice Hall (School Division), 2005.