If he wants the study to meet scientific standards then the study needs to adhere to the scientific method. The scientific method is made up of several steps.
Step 1: Define the question he wants to ask. So in this it would be something along the lines of, how do people interact with one another.
Step 2: Then do background research into the subject matter.
Step 3: Construct/devise a hypothesis. What does he expect the outcome of the study to be.
Step 4: Test his hypothesis by carrying out the experiment. Make it clear what kind of experiment he intends on using for example an observation.
Step 5: Analyze the data gathered from the experiment.
Step 6. Draw a conclusion from the results.
Step 7: Share the results through writing a report/article.
