technifyed

Sociology · Urban Life

Observe queueing behaviour and social norms

Observe how people form, keep and break queues at three places and what rules they follow.

  • DifficultyEasy
  • Estimated time2–7 days
  • Budget₹0
  • ClassClass 9–12
  • TeamSolo or up to 3
  • You needNo equipment

Prerequisites: None beyond your class work

Original · by TechnifyedField StudyInvestigationBeginner friendlyFree to doNo equipmentResearch oriented

My projects

Overview

Observe how people form, keep and break queues at three places and what rules they follow.

Skills you will use

Naturalistic observationTallying

Safety

  • Tell someone where you are going, go in a group, avoid traffic, deep water and bad weather, and get permission before entering private land.
  • This project handles personal data. Collect the minimum, store it safely, get permission, and delete it when the project ends.

Materials and tools

  • Three public queues
  • A tally sheet
Expected cost₹0Nothing to buy
Estimated duration2–7 days5 build steps, plus the report

Step-by-step roadmap

  1. Start

    You will finish with: tallies for three settings and an explanation of norms.

  2. 1

    Prerequisites

    Nothing special to know first. Then collect the 2 items in the materials list.

  3. 2

    Learn

    Read up on urban life: norms, observation, queues. Your textbook chapter and one short video are enough.

  4. 3

    Plan

    Write the research question, who or what you will study, how many, and the exact questions or measures.

  5. 4

    Build

    1. Observe a bus stop, a ticket counter and a canteen for 30 minutes each.
    2. Tally orderly queuing, cutting in and reactions.
    3. Note physical features such as barriers.
    4. Compare the three places.
    5. Explain what keeps a queue orderly.
  6. 5

    Test

    Check a sample of your data by hand, and ask whether another explanation fits your findings equally well.

  7. 6

    Document

    Keep the raw responses or data safe, anonymise names, and build the tables and charts. Report structure

  8. 7

    Present

    State the question, the method in one line, the two or three main findings and their limits. Presentation structure

  9. 8

    Publish

    Share a short paper or poster; offer a summary to the people who took part.

Expected outcome

Tallies for three settings and an explanation of norms.

Other versions of this project

Advanced version

Add a rope or floor marks at one place with permission and observe again.

Ways to do this project

Text marked "You write this" is a prompt for your own work; everything else is specific to this project.

Problem
You write thisWrite your question as: How does [what you change] affect [what you measure]?
Hypothesis
You write thisWrite it as: If [I change this], then [this will happen], because [reason].
Variables
You write thisName the one thing you change (independent), the thing you measure (dependent) and what you keep the same (controlled).

Observation table

You write thisDraw a table with one column for what you change, one for each repeat reading and one for the average.

Graph
You write thisPlot what you changed along the bottom and what you measured up the side; use a bar chart for categories and a line graph for numbers.
Results
You write thisState what the graph shows in one or two sentences, with numbers.
Conclusion
You write thisSay whether the result supports your hypothesis and why you think so.

Display board

  • Title and your name
  • Question
  • Hypothesis
  • Materials
  • Procedure (with photos)
  • Data table and graph
  • Conclusion
  • What you would do next

Questions judges ask

  • What would you change if you did this again?
  • What was your biggest source of error, and how did you reduce it?
  • Where is this idea used in real life?

Working as a team

Solo or up to 3. Suggested roles:

Research and readingData collectionAnalysisWritingPresentation

Report and presentation

Report structure

  1. Title
  2. Abstract
  3. Introduction and research question
  4. Review of what is already known
  5. Method: sample, tools, procedure
  6. Findings (tables and charts)
  7. Discussion
  8. Limitations
  9. Conclusion and suggestions
  10. References
  11. Annexure: questionnaire or data

Presentation structure

  1. Research question
  2. Why it matters
  3. Method and sample
  4. Finding 1
  5. Finding 2
  6. Finding 3
  7. What it means
  8. Limitations
  9. Conclusion

Viva questions

Prepare your own answers to these before you present.

  • What is the aim of your project, in one sentence?
  • What is the principle behind it?
  • Why did you choose these materials or tools?
  • What result did you get, and was it what you expected?
  • What went wrong and how did you fix it?
  • How could this be improved or used in real life?

Resources

Source and attribution

Original

Written by Technifyed. Free to use for your own school or college project; write the report in your own words. Added 1 Oct 2026.

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