Observation at Dss

Craven Bridger

05/16/12

FIELD RESEARCH JOURNAL #1 - Observation at DSS

The location for my field research was a place that people go when they need help...or are looking for a free handout; the Greenville Country DSS office. The two main reasons people come here are to apply for SNAP food benefits or Medicaid. I needed to go add my roommate to my SNAP application since he does not have a job and I was denied the first time due to income. I figured it would be an interesting location to study more in depth since there is typically a very diverse group inside. I mainly wanted to note peoples facial expressions, body language, and appearance. I walked in the building to 30 plus people standing in line and first noted the ethnic diversity at about 50/50 black and white. I found it interesting that not one person of Asian or Hispanic background came in the building while I was there. Once in line I started to scan and observe the entire room. The woman in front of me has a downcast look on her face and I would hardly describe anyone in the room as happy. The room is overall very quiet for as many people that are inside. On the topic of body language most people are staring blankly with their arms crossed, making no eye contact with anyone. They may have been wondering what lead them to this place; I know that thought ran through my mind. Besides the few children that where inside, I never noticed anyone smiling or laughing for that matter. Surprisingly very few people are engaged in something like conversation, looking at their phones or filling out forms; most are just standing or sitting quietly. The employees seem calm to have this many people waiting in line and appear to be in no hurry. They also look downcast and seem to have no distinct facial expressions whatsoever. Most everyone is poorly dressed and groomed. I only saw one older couple dressed nice. The man had on an old suit and the woman a dress. Other than them, most people were wearing older looking t-shirts some being torn or with holes or had clothes that smell as if they haven't been washed in a while. A good many people also had visible tattoos. I was unable to make out many conversations due to no one around me saying much at all. Most of what I did here were complaints about the line. For example one women walked in, looked at the long line and said "I ain't doing this" and walked back out. The other comments or conversations I heard were complaints about people close to them. 2 women sitting down in the waiting area were talking about how there boyfriend and spouses stole stuff from them. I couldn't make out everything they were saying but I did clearly hear that the younger girl's boyfriend had stolen and used her debit card without her knowing. Another example was later in line when a woman a few people in front of me started complaining