Participant observation is unique in that it combines the researchers participation in the lives of the people under study while also maintaining a professional distance fetterman, 1998. However, the former term is also frequently taken to refer to the written output of that research. So i decided to look around at what is close to my home that isnt a place i frequent or have even visited at all. This chapter discusses the principles of ethnography and participant observation. Hence, it is possible, for the first time, to talk about educational ethnography, medical ethnography, policyoriented ethnography and. May 15, 2015 participant observation, whereby the researcher interacts with people in everyday life while collecting information, is a unique method for investigating the enormously rich, complex, conflictual, problematic, and diverse experiences, thoughts, feelings, and activities of human beings and the meanings of their existence. Research in constructivist frameworks using ethnographic. It was a provocation to those who value ethnography, but it seems to me that the substance of the debates that have ensued.
Ethnographic research typically employs three kinds of data collection methods. Name date ethnographic observation i set out to find a place to begin my observations, not knowing what to fully expect, what i may find. Ethnography and participant observation previous next. Both ethnography and participant observation have been claimed to represent a uniquely human istic, interpretive approach. Participant observation, whereby the researcher interacts with people in everyday life while collecting information, is a unique method for investigating the enormously rich, complex, conflictual, problematic, and diverse experiences, thoughts, feelings, and activities of human beings and the meanings of their existence.
Ethnography is the art and science of describing a group or culture. This component supplies a dimension of information that is lacking in survey data. While participant observation aimed to uncover the world of female gamblers with firsthand exploration of naturalistic gambling settings, indepth interviewing intended to reveal the meanings of female gambling by attending to. This is why participant observation, conversations and open interviews are central to ethnographic research.
The important thing is we want to become involved in whatever the participant is doing. Participant observation is where the researcher joins in with the group being studied and observes their behaviour. Ethnography and participant observation 431 chapter guide ethnography and participant observation entail the extended involvement of the researcher in the social life of those he or she studies. We are not in the business of trying to impose a single. Spradley summary in this introductory chapter from his book, participant observation, spradley defines and emphasizes the importance of ethnographic fieldwork and the concept of culture.
In order to do an ethnography, you need to have a basic question or topic in mind, from which you will devise a research strategy of interviews, surveys, andor participant observation, and library research. Participant observation by scholar practitioners is one type of data collection method typically used in qualitative research and ethnography. This essay focuses on the core of ethnographic research participant observation to argue that it is a potentially revolutionary praxis because it forces us to question our theoretical presuppositions about the world, produce knowledge that is new, was confined to the margins, or was silenced. Senior lecturer in human geography, school of geography, earth and environmental sciences, the university of birmingham, birmingham b15 2tt, uk. Jun 30, 2017 participant observation is one the main research methods on the a level sociology syllabus, but many of the examples in the main text books are painfully out of date. Ethnography cambridge encyclopedia of anthropology. This post covers the theoretical, practical and ethical strengths and limitations of using overt and covert participant observation in social research. Ethnographic information can take many different forms. Small group work overview of focused ethnography designing your focused ethnography study identifying a rqrqs and key aspects data collection tools, interviews, participant observation, identification of key informants discussion conclusion outline. Participant observation is one type of data collection method by practitionerscholars typically used in qualitative research and ethnography.
Pierfrancesco bresolini ethnography and participant observation. In doing so, the manufacturing business process specialist from kic performed a variety of observational techniques within kkco in a weekly basis for the first two years of the project. Participant observation is closely related to the ethnographic method or ethnography, which consists of an indepth study. According to angrosino 2007, observation is the act of perceiving the activities and interrelationships of people in the field setting. Although covert participant observation is more likely to provide detailed portraits of contextualized social realities, it stirred much controversy. It was a provocation to those who value ethnography, but it seems to me that the substance of the debates that have ensued, in the cultural anthropology forum and in this volume of. Participant observation as ethnography or ethnography as participant observation in organizational research. Participant observation accounts usually start off as scratch notes. This type of methodology is employed in many disciplines, particularly anthropology incl.
Participant observation jorgensen major reference works. Write an ethnographic account that is authentic and credible. Incontext observation is a key method used by ethnography and the ethnographers at ethnographic research, inc. I argue that to attribute ethnographicness to encounters with those among whom we carry on our research, or more generally to fieldwork, is to undermine both the ontological commitment and the educational purpose of anthropology as a discipline, and of its. Observation is a method of data collection in which researchers observe within a specific research field. This essay focuses on the core of ethnographic researchparticipant observationto argue that it is a potentially revolutionary praxis because it forces us to.
Before asking the first question in the field, the ethnographer begins with a problem, a. Ethnography has become a term so overused, both in anthropology and in contingent disciplines, that it has lost much of its meaning. From this point of view participant observation is not a particular research technique but a mode of beingintheworld characteristic of researchers. Conducting observational research deakin university. Participant observation has emerged as a popular research tool across the social sciences. Participant observation is a great tool that ethnographers use to get up and close to your consumers.
It is sometimes referred to as an unobtrusive method participant observation involves the observer being a member of the setting in which they are collecting data there are quite a few variations of this definition. Covert participant observation pearsons 2009 covert participant. The idea of a method that had shifted away from the scientific, and was thorough and broad, and topic oriented, lent itself to a broader application and has appeared in other research areas. It considers the role and benefits of participant observation in terms of understanding event audiences and provides examples of the range of participant motivations and preferences such approaches can reveal and explore. Participant observation is one the main research methods on the a level sociology syllabus, but many of the examples in the main text books are painfully out of date. This essay focuses on the core of ethnographic research participant observation to argue that it is a potentially revolutionary praxis because it forces us to question our theoretical presuppositions about the world, produce knowledge that is new. Ethnography and participant observation cambridge university. Ethnography is, at heart, an observational method, and particularly in the more participatory mode of observation there are overlaps in how it is conducted. The ethnographic method is called participantobservation.
Until i was seated in the piper navajo propeller plane, flying above the roadless boreal. Ethnography and participant observation by jillian m. Pdf ethnography and participant observation oladapo. For basic information on what ethnographies are all about, see background to ethnography below. As the only field method that allows researchers to observe what people do in real life contexts, not what they say what they do, ethnographic participant observation can supply detailed, authentic information unattainable by any other research method homan, 1980. Ethnographic participant observation could be overt or covert, with or without revealing research purpose and research identity to the researched. From participant observation to the observation of participation. Some relatively recent examples of participant observation. It examines things like race, class, gender, religion, kinship, economics, political systems and others. We try to blend in and put our participants at ease.
Ethnography, field research, qualitative research, participant observation, and methodological issues. Ethnography participant observation, a potentially revolutionary. Articles, journals, statistical data, and documentaries are just a few of the many forms that ethnographic information can be conveyed. One example is the classic ethnography of a nursing home conducted by savishinsky. Third, and at the heart of the chapter, i survey the defining. It is a widely used methodology in many disciplines, particularly cultural anthropology, european ethnology, sociology, communication studies, human geography and social psychology. There is a shift to a critical ethnography denzin and. Different versions of ethnographic research ethnography exists in many forms and ethnographers continuously debate about what counts as ethnography, and how to represent the. Sociologists also conducted participant observation studies and discussed the use of the technique early on, including beatrice webb 1926 in the 1880s and the chicago school of urban sociolo. Aug 16, 2019 participant observation requires the researcher to be a subjective participant in the sense that they use knowledge gained through personal involvement with the research subjects to interact with and gain further access to the group. Ethnography and participant observation sage research. University of southern california center for multilingual, multicultural research an ethnography when used as a method, ethnography typically refers to fieldwork alternatively, participant observation conducted by a.
Ethnography has also been used to understand various service environments. Incorporating an ethnographic approach, the participant observation method was applied atkinson and hammersley, 1998. Ethnography participant observation, a potentially. Spradley most americans associate science with detached observation. A very common form is a book written by the person participating in the research or observation. Mar 31, 2016 this post covers the theoretical, practical and ethical strengths and limitations of using overt and covert participant observation in social research. Alice didnt write this live in that lecture theatre.
Contemporary ethnography is based almost entirely on fieldwork and requires the complete immersion of the anthropologist in the culture and everyday life of the people who are the subject of the study. How does ethnography and participant observation differ. The idea of ethnography is to get a full and holistic view of the cultural experience of a person. This essay focuses on the core of ethnographic researchparticipant observationto argue that it is a potentially revolutionary praxis because it forces us to question our theoretical presuppositions about the world, produce knowledge that is new, was confined to the margins, or was silenced. Naturalist interpretive studyingdown kaufman 1961 maynardmoodie and musheno 2003 studyingup fenno 1978 and 1990. Ethnography and participant observation politics trove. I recently had the pleasure of learning how to conduct ethnographic research for the first time. There is a strong tradition of observational research in most areas of the social sciences, especially in anthropology and sociology. Participant observation is one of the many methods that an. It is argued that participant observation is not merely a method of anthropology but is a form of.
Participant observation, a potentially revolutionary praxis. Pdf ethnography and participant observation researchgate. Pdf participant observation as ethnography or ethnography as. This post provides some more recent examples of research studies which employed participant observation as their main research method. In the second of these chapters, bow talked of ethnography as being most closely linked with participant observation. In particular, political ethnographies are now widely. Most common interview questions pdf participant observation james p.
Participant observation in the era of ethnography sage. This text is a follow up to spradleys earlier ethographic research mostcommoninterviewquestions. Sometimes ethnography and participant observation are grouped together in method texts e. When everett hughes taught me at the university of chicago in the late 1940s, we were trained in participant observation po, although we also called it fieldwork. I also refer to these as basic classical ethnographic methods, to distinguish them from other classical ethnographic methods long employed by anthropologists.
The history of participant observation as a method participant observation is considered a staple in anthropological studies, especially in ethnographic studies, and has been used as a data collection method for over a century. Pdf ethnography and participant observation oladapo ajayi. This feature provides a general introduction to ethnographic methods of research with a particular focus on participant observation. During participant observation, the researcher works to play two separate roles at the same time. Participant observation involves the observer being a member of the setting in which they are collecting data there are quite a few variations of this definition observation is normally associated with an ethnographic methodology more later but can be used as part of other research designs. Participant observation in social research revisesociology. Ethnography is, at heart, an observational method, and particularly in the more. Ethnography is conducted to study cultures and groups through their history, routines and practices, discussion of their environment, languages etc. Ethnographic methods originate from the social sciences, particularly anthropology, and are about immersing yourself in a particular setting usually in business research a company or other organization and. It is undertaken as openended inductive longterm living with and among the people to be studied, the sole purpose of which is to achieve an understanding of local knowledge, values, and practices from the natives point of view. Ethnography and participant observation search form. Reflections on the interview as participatory qualitative research.
Participant observation as a data collection method. Ethnography, descriptive study of a particular human society or the process of making such a study. Ethnographers use a range of methods and timeintensive techniques to conduct their work, including. Third, and at the heart of the chapter, i survey the defining debates surrounding ethnographic methods arising from the culture wars of the 1980s in anthropology. Utilising ethnography and participant observation in festival. Sage reference ethnography and participant observation. Pdf there is a strong tradition of observational research in most areas of the social sciences, especially in anthropology and sociology. Together the essays illustrate the particular strengths of ethnography and partic ipant observation as. Ethnography is a qualitative research method that seeks to understand cultural phenomena that reflect the knowledge and meanings that guide the life of cultural groups within their own environment. Ethnography and participant observation are the most recognized methods of qualitative research, and both refer to studying communities or the groups of people for a long period of time by conducting interviews and observations. Ethnography, emerging from anthropology, and adopted by sociologists, is a qualitative methodology that lends itself to the study of the beliefs, social interactions, and behaviours of small societies, involving participation and observation over a period of time, and the. The participant observation method, also known as ethnographic research, is when a sociologist actually becomes a part of the group they are studying in order to collect data and understand a social phenomenon or problem.
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