Introduction

Casual
observation

Participant
observation

Conducting a
participant
observation
study

Establishing
validity

Generalizing
from a
qualitative
study

Personal
qualifications

Case studies

Focus groups

Strengths and limitations of
qualitative
research

Aids

Participant observation

Description

Involvement with the group can range from becoming a full member and actively participating in all things the members do to less active roles. How active the observer will be has to be decided in advance of observation. Most observers assume less than a full membership role. For one thing, no observer can really enter into all the activities of most groups, particularly life in a village or community. In these settings, culturally defined roles for persons by gender, age, marital status, social status, and other community-defined conditions frequently limit the extent to which an investigator can participate and observe activities of certain members of the group. A male observer, for example, could not participate in many of the activities of women, while a female observer might have difficulty observing decision-making sessions of the male elders of a village.

Regardless of the level of involvement, the same data collection and analysis techniques are used, mainly unstructured observation, based on repeated interaction with participants, and unstructured interviewing. In addition, investigators make full use of any available data, such as historical records or census reports, and may even conduct surveys. Using all possible data, the investigator assembles information for answering his or her research question.

Periods of observation may be a brief as several weeks or extend to a year or longer. Studies of the organization and functioning of formal groups, such as offices, are generally on the shorter side, whereas studies of villages or other communities frequently last longer. Regardless of the length of time involved, most participant observation studies share certain common features.

Distinctive features

Most participant observation studies can be described as:

• Being focused on one social setting;
• Using an open, flexible research approach;
• Combining data collection with simultaneous analysis of data;
• For the purpose of understanding or explaining why certain behaviors occur among members of the group.

Research is generally conducted within the confines of one social setting. This may be a village, community, office, club, or other group. Methods of data collection are flexible. The investigator can use extensive unstructured interviewing to follow up on things he or she has observed. New questions can be explored at any time or the investigator can go back to previous points and get further information to enrich what has already been learned. As the investigator learns about the group, the topic or focus of the study can be changed and different forms of data collection can be employed at any time.

Data collection is ongoing and continues up to the last day the observer spends with a group. In participant observation and other qualitative approaches to research, analysis proceeds along with data collection. Analysis is based on thinking about and trying to make sense of what is observed. At any time, old ideas can be revisited and new concepts explored.   Ultimately, the investigator seeks to present a full description of the actions of the group along with an explanation for them.

Example

Haberer (1985) investigated the status and power of women in an Arab Muslim village in northern Israel. Her hypothesis was that women, who lacked access to the official power structure of the village, develop informal sources of power and use these to influence decisions affecting themselves and the village as a whole. To test this hypothesis, Haberer decided to use participant observation as the way to collect her data.

With her husband and two school-aged children, she rented an apartment and lived in the village over a 24-month period from 1977 to1985. At the outset, she explained her purpose to her landlord, who also became a valuable source of information and provided assistance, and to everyone she met. Haberer lived like any other woman in the village, doing household chores, taking care of her family, participating in the school activities of her children, and otherwise living according to the patterns of life in the village. In addition, she visited extensively with other women in their homes, both during the day and in the evenings when the men were home. Soon, she came to know many women well and became close friends with some. One older lady adopted her as a "daughter" and patiently answered her questions and provided insights into the life of women in the village.