Participant observation has been widely used in disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, communication studies, political science, social psychology, and even in market research. Show To help you get a broad overview of this methodology, in this article we have compiled its most important characteristics, its importance, and some of the types of participant observation that you can put into practice for your next study. What is participant observation?Participant observation is a qualitative research methodology in which the researcher studies a group not only through observation, but also by participating in its activities. In this qualitative observation methodology, the researcher immerses himself in the daily activities of the participants in order to record the behavior in as many scenarios as possible. Thanks to the immersion in the study place, the researchers can observe the daily life of the people: their exchanges with each other, their formal and informal conversations, habits, etc. It offers researchers the opportunity to collect honest and intimate information about people. However, this information is filtered through the perspective of researchers who, by using this method, run the risk of losing their objectivity and altering with their presence the behavior of the groups they study. Importance of participant observationParticipant observation is a method that helps you see and understand what people are doing and compare it with what they say. In this way, you help researchers know if the people with whom you are conducting a study act differently from what they are described. It also allows the researcher to better understand what is happening in a given group and its cultural environment, giving greater credibility to their interpretations of the observation. In addition, it allows the researcher to collect qualitative data through various types of interviews and quantitative data through surveys and different quantitative observation techniques. Characteristics of participant observationParticipant observation has historically been associated with a form of field research in which the researcher resides for long periods of time in a small community. Today, this methodology is used in a wide variety of settings and for widely varying periods of time, from a single interaction to many years. But it is usually characterized by the following points:
Types of participant observationNow that you know what this method is and what its most common characteristics are, we will introduce you to the types that exist. Researchers observe and record the behaviors of their subjects in their own environment without conversing or interacting with them in any way. Many of the studies that use this form of participant observation are studies in which researchers observe people’s behavior and communications in public places, such as restaurants, coffee shops, transportation hubs, and even on the Internet through innovative methods such as netnography. In this way, researchers converse with their subjects and participate in the daily life of the groups they study, including their activities, customs, rituals, routines, etc. The degree of commitment of researchers to these groups varies. Some researchers limit their interactions to interviews, while others engage in all aspects of their subjects’ lives. Examples of this form of participant observation are studies in which researchers lived for long periods of time among different ethnic, cultural, or religious communities. In covert participant observation, researchers do not make their presence known to their subjects and, if they do, they do not identify themselves as investigators, whereas in open participant observation they do. However, even when the investigation is open, investigators often do not inform the people they meet in the course of their investigation of the specific purpose of the investigation, nor do they inform everyone they meet that they are researchers, as this could unnecessarily interrupt conversations and events being observed. Covert and active participant observation has several advantages. In this type of participant observation, researchers can have access to a group that they would not otherwise have the opportunity to observe, and they can experience the practices of the group as they are experienced by the members of the group. Generally, researchers can alter group behavior by their presence, but in this form of participant observation, groups would not consciously change their behavior in response to the researcher’s presence because they are not aware of being observed. In the case of covert and passive participant observation, researchers are not likely to alter the behaviors of their subjects, since the researchers do not actively engage with their subjects and because the subjects are also not aware that they are being observed. However, since observation is passive, researchers do not have the opportunity to experience the lives of their subjects for themselves. If observation is open and active, people can participate in and experience their subjects’ activities as their subjects would, but they run the risk of both changing the behavior of their subjects through their interactions with them, and that their subjects change their behavior by themselves knowing that they are being studied. As in the case of covert and passive participant observation, researchers do not run the risk that their presence alters the behavior of the groups they study through their interactions with them. However, the guinea pig effect is a problem for this form of observation, unlike the case of covert and passive participant observation, because the participants are aware that they are being studied. Furthermore, researchers cannot experience the world as it is as subjects would. ConclusionAs you can see, participant observation is a research method that provides valuable information about the social and cultural relationships of a group or community over time. Uncover the insights that matter the most. Use QuestionPro’s market research platform to uncover complex insights that can propel your business to the forefront of your industry. LEARN MORE Participant observation is a specific type of data collection typically used in ethnography or qualitative research. Several disciplines use this methodology as scholar-practitioners work to gain a close or intimate familiarity with a specific group of individuals in a targeted demographic. Any community can become part of a participant observation method of data collection. Occupational, religious, and geographical demographics are common points of interest when evaluating communication studies, social psychology, or cultural anthropology. The first use of this method dates to the early 19th century when Joseph Marie stated that the “best way to get to know Indians (Native Americans) is to become like one of them, and it is by learning their language that we will become their fellow citizens.” Frank Cushing, Bronislaw Malinowski, and Margaret Meed were all extensive users of this collection option. Several advantages and disadvantages of participant observation are worth noting when approaching a qualitative research project. List of the Advantages of Participant Observation1. It provides results that lend validity to a proposed theory. It also provides the advantage of disproving specific ideas because of the direct observations that create data. 2. Participant observation provides high levels of flexibility for researchers. This approach allows researchers to learn answers to questions that they may not know to ask when they first start their participant observation work. Participant observation is not bound by the same rules as the quantitative methods if something does not fit an expectation. 3. More insights become available because of participant observation. 4. It provides practical advantages to data collection that other methods cannot use. Participant observation is useful for studying groups like gangs, issues like juvenile delinquency, and cult-based religious indoctrination. 5. Participant observation can capture changing attitudes. 6. It opens the door for researcher speculation. 7. Researchers have more ways to produce real results. 8. The information gathered by participant observation as a predictive quality. 9. Participant observation can be an open-ended process. 10. It provides insight into an individual or group attitude. List of the Disadvantages of Participant Observation1. Participant observation has a high risk of bias entering the data. 2. The representative sample being studied is relatively small. 3. It takes a lot of time to gather factual data using participant observation. This disadvantage is another reason why bias can creep into the collected data. When you spend most of your time around people, it is difficult to avoid forming relationships with them that impact you in some way. 4. Ethical questions exist for this qualitative research method. 5. Self-selection can cause information bias to appear in the collected data. The only way to avoid this disadvantage is to randomize the individuals in the studied demographic so that no one can unduly influence the information gathering process. That means quantitative influences can come into the participant observation work, sometimes negating the benefits that they can achieve. 6. Participant observation relies heavily on the skills of the researcher. 7. The data collected through participant observation is somewhat subjective. 8. Participant observation gathers situation-specific data. That means participant observation captures more of a snapshot in time than a long-term perspective when gathering data. It can produce useful results in a variety of industries, but it isn’t information that has value when considering future circumstances. 9. It can be challenging to duplicate the results of participant observation work. 10. Researchers must have familiarity with the subject matter they study. Imagine a journalist trying to conduct an interview about magnetic fields when their experience involves sports reporting. Would that person know the right questions to ask? Do they understand the subject well enough to pursue a tangent if one should appear in an answer? That’s why qualitative research is often seen as being a weaker process to follow unless one can verify the skills of the people who gather the data. 11. It does not provide a statistical representation of the gathered intervention. Conclusion Participant observation requires researchers to become subjective participants in the sense that they use the information gained from personal involvement to interact with or gain further access to the group being studied. This activity implies a dimension of information that is often lacking when conducting surveys or direct interviews. It is a method that also requires researchers to be objective and record everything that happens around them without letting their emotions or feelings influence their findings. When reviewing the participant observation advantages and disadvantages, it is essential to remember that authentic objectivity is an ideal situation, but it is rarely an actuality. All of us see the world we live in through different eyes because of our environment, individual choices, and personalized influences. That means the only researcher that is 100% accurate is an unbiased individual who is already familiar with the small demographic in question. |