OBSERVATION RESEARCH METHODS ARE PARTICULARLY APPROPRIATE IN AN EXAMINATION OF POLICE EXPERIENCE AND ACTIVITY IN (1) THE POLICE USE OF DISCRETION IN THE EXERCISE OF LEGAL POWERS, (2) THE SOCIALIZATION OF PERSONS INTO POLICE ROLES AND THEIR CONDUCT IN THOSE ROLES, AND (3) THE INVESTIGATION OF POLICE ORGANIZATION AND OPERATIONS. PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION AND SYSTEMATIC SOCIAL OBSERVATIONS ARE THE TWO MAJOR TECHNIQUES OF DIRECT OBSERVATION OF NATURAL SOCIAL PHENOMENA. PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION CHARACTERISTICALLY INVOLVES ONLY A SINGLE PARTICIPANT AND THE PROCEDURES FOR DATA COLLECTION ARE NOT SYSTEMIZED. SYSTEMATIC SOCIAL OBSERVATION INVOLVES OBSERVERS BEING TRAINED TO OBSERVE AND RECORD ACCORDING TO EXPLICIT PROCEDURES THAT PERMIT REPLICATION. THE RULES OF OBSERVATION AND RECORDING PERMIT THE USE OF THE LOGIC OF SCIENTIFIC INFERENCE. SYSTEMATIC SOCIAL OBSERVATION IS PREFERABLE TO QUESTIONNAIRE AND INTERVIEW SURVEYS IN COLLECTING DATA BECAUSE INFORMATION IS MORE RELIABLE, THE TIME OF OCCURRENCE AND DURATION OF EVENT CAN BE RECORDED, MULTIPLE OCCURRENCES CAN BE RECONSTRUCTED IN THEIR NATURAL SETTINGS, OTHER TECHNIQUES OF COLLECTING INFORMATION CAN BE EVALUATED BY SYSTEMATIC SOCIAL OBSERVATION,AND MORE PRECISE ESTIMATES OF OCCURRENCES ARE OBTAINED. THE MAJOR ELEMENTS IN THE DESIGN OF SYSTEMATIC SOCIAL OBSERVATION SURVEYS ARE THE STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS UNDER INVESTIGATION, SELECTION OF A SAMPLING FRAME AND UNITS OF SAMPLING, DETERMINING OBSERVER MODES OF DATA COLLECTION, SELECTION AND TRAINING OF OBSERVERS, ADMINISTERING THE OBSERVATION PROCESS, AND DETERMINING SOURCES OF ERROR. THE COST OF SYSTEMATIC SOCIAL OBSERVATION, THE DIFFICULTY OF GAINING ACCESS TO POLICE AGENCIES ON AN OBSERVATION BASIS, AND ETHICS OF PRIVACY ARE SOME OF THE POBLEMS POSED BY BOTH SYSTEMATIC SOCIAL OBSERVATION AND PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION. REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED. (RCB)