TOPIC 4

Participant observation

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the completion of this topic students should be able to use

the participan observation method in their future research.
This approach known as ethnographic research, is when
anthropologist actually became part of of the group they are
studying in order to collect data and understand a social
phenomenon orOUTCOMES
LEARNING problem

INTRODUCTION
Participant observation is one type of data collection method used
by scholars or researchers in qualitative research and ethnography. This
type of methodology allows researcher watching people in their natural
environment. The researcher records their experiences and observations
while taking part in activities alongside local participants or informants in
the field site. This methods require the participant-observer to spend
considerable time at their field site over a period of weeks, months, or
years. By spending time in the field helps facilitate better data collection
and helps the ethnographer develop a deeper understanding of the events
or culture under investigation.
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1.1 PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION

Participant observation is a central and defining method in social-cultural

anthropology. It is also known as ethnography a qualitative study in which the
researcher actively involves in the routine activities of the group being
studied. This needs the researcher not only involves watching what
participants do, listening to them, engaging in probing conversations, but
joining them in daily tasks as necessary; it also involves investigating any
cultural event, cultural artefacts, daily life activities, economic activities,
social activities, religious rituals and any stories can tell us about the culture.
A well-known participant observer, Spradley (1980), notes that we should
consider what people do (cultural behaviour), what people know (cultural
knowledge), and what people make and use (cultural artifacts). As per
Spradley, we should view:

Space

Feelings Objects
Objests

Actors Acts
s

Times Activities

Events

Figure 1: Thing to observe

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Working side by side daily with participants in a research environment allows

the ethnographer to gain first-hand information about the environment under
investigation. In other words, to make the most out of the ethnographic research
process, the participant-observer must practice the art of balancing both
participation and observation, which can be difficult at times (Mannik &
McGarray, 2017). See Figure 2 shows an example how Canadian ethnographer
participate and observe a Quechua women remove kernels of corn by hand.

Figure 2: Two mothers - a Quechua farmer and a Canadian

researcher - remove kernels of corn by hand from dried cobs
(Sources : Jenny Cockburn-
https://www.flickr.com/photos/raieducation/8659143053/in/photostream/)

The trick to successful participant-observation is to remain objective and

observant while, at the same time, becoming involved in a hands-on, first-hand
experience. It is imperative to remain objective in one's role (Tombro, 2016; Van
Mannen, 2003).

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Figure 2: Observing
Sources: Cartoon by Paul Mason https://xaperezsindin.com/2013/03/28/is-
the-only-aim-to-do-the-best-work/

Figure 3: Participant Observation

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Source : Sarah Milner 2017

https://methods.sagepub.com/book/understanding-global-development-
research-fieldwork-issues-experiences/i648.xml

There are four types of observation;

1. Complete observation -This is a

detached observer where the researcher is neither seen nor noticed by
participants, and participants are more likely to act natural when they
don’t know they’re being observed.

2. Observer as Participant –There is

some interaction with the participants but the interaction is limited. The
researcher’s aim is to play a neutral role as much as possible. In this role,
the researcher or observer has only minimal involvement in the social

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setting being studied. There is some connection to the setting but the
observer is not naturally and normally part of the social setting. The
disadvantage here is that although you participate in some way in the
activity, researcher lose the emotional involvement, but the advantage is that
researcher can concentrate on your role as a researcher. It might be used if
you were, for example, observing people on a training course, or users of
electronic courseware, where it was very important to understand the
reactions and mental processes of the participants rather than what they do.

3. Participant as Observer - Here the researcher is fully engaged with

the participants. She is more of a friend or colleague than a neutral
third party. While there is full interaction with participants, they still
known that this is a researcher. The researcher gains access to a
setting by virtue of having a natural and non-research reason for
being part of the setting. As observers, they are part of the group
being studied. This approach may be common in health care settings
where members of the health care team are interested in observing
operations in order to understand and improve care processes.

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4. Complete Participant - This is a fully embedded researcher, almost

like a spy. Here the observer fully engages with the participants and
partakes in their activities. This has sometimes been referred to as
“going native,” in reference to performing indigenous fieldwork.
Ethnographers try to immerse themselves in a setting and become
part of the group being investigated, in order to understand the
meanings that actors put upon events or situation

ACTIVITY 1.1

https://youtu.be/fDNYzPDlfRA

This video explains what participant observation is and why it is an

important method. Dr Moerman explains the features of participant
observation, what personal skills you need to do participants
observation and the occurrence of reactivity. You also learn about
different roles you can take in participant observation, the ways you
present yourself (impression management) and the ethics you need to
take into consideration.

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ACTIVITY 1.1

SELF CHECK 1.1

1. Why Conduct Participant Observation?

2. What Should You Consider When Conducting Participant
Observation?

PArticipant observation is a set of method –

oral history, interview, kinship chart etc –
tambah bhg ini dalam i modue

1.2 THE ADVANTAGES OF PARTICIPANT

OBSERVATION

The most significant strength of both types of participant observation is the

high degree of validity the method achieves. There are at least five reasons
for this:

a. participant observation allow researcher to observe what people do, not

what they say they do – In contrast to most other methods, participant
observation allows the researcher to see what people do rather than what
people say they do.

b. Participant Observation takes place in natural settings – this should mean

respondents act more naturally than in a laboratory, or during a more
formal interview. This should mean the Hawthorne effect will be less,
especially with covert research. You also get more of a feel for respondents’
actions in context, which might otherwise seem out of place if in an artificial
research environment.

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c. Digging deep and gaining insight – the length of time ethnographers

spend with a community means that close bonds that can be established,
thus enabling the researcher to dig deeper than with other methods and find
out things which may be hidden to all other means of enquiry.

d. Verstehen/empathetic understanding– participant observation allows the

researcher to fully join the group and to see things through the eyes (and
actions) of the people in group. Joining in allows the researcher to gain
empathy through personal experiences. This closeness to people’s reality
means that participant observation can give uniquely personal, authentic
data.

e. Flexibility and generating new ideas – when completing questionnaires

researchers begin with pre-set questions. Even before starting to collect the
data, therefore, the researchers have decided what’s important. The problem
with this is what if the questions the researcher thinks are important are not
the same as the ones the subject thinks are important. By contrast,
participant observation is much more flexible. It allows the researcher to
enter the situation with an open mind and as new situations are
encountered they can be followed up.

ACTIVITY 1.2
Compose your own field notes. Visit a public place (restauran, cofee shop, train
station, mall, etc) for 15 minutes where you can both see and hear the activity
that is taking place. Record the conversations you hear using your phone or an
audio recorder, but do not write down anything while in the field. Then, leave
the location, and immediately write down (without referring to your audio
recording) what you observed about the environment and the conversations you
heard, as well as your impressions of the conversations. Then, listen to the
recording. How much of the conversations did you recall in your notes? Now,
return to the location, how well did your notes depict the physical environment
of the place you visited? Identify the reasons why you think you did not
document certain things in your field notes about the environment and the
conversations you heard, and why you did others. Consider how you might
improve your observation skills.
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SELF CHECK 1.2

✓ Make a list of characteristics of Field Notes

THE DISADVANTAGES OF PARTICIPANT

1.3
OBSERVATION

The Limitations of Participant Observation

a. Theoretical Disadvantages
One theoretical disadvantage is the low degree of reliability. It would be
almost impossible for another researcher to repeat given that a participant
observation study relies on the personal skills and characteristics of the
lone researcher.

Another theoretical disadvantage is the low degree of representativeness.

Sociologists who use quantitative research methods study large, carefully
selected, representative samples that provide a sound basis for making
generalisations, In contrast, the groups used in participant observation
studies are usually unrepresentative, because they are accessed through
snowball sampling and thus haphazardly selected.

b. Participant observation has a high risk of bias

Researchers must get directly involved with the particular community they want
to study so that the data they collect is authentic. This approach comes with a
severe risk of getting involved in the social dynamics of those individuals, which
means the collected information has a higher risk of bias than can be find in other
forms of qualitative research. If researcher begins to sympathize with the

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perspectives or attitudes of the studies group, then the information is no longer

reliable.

Critics also question how valid participant observation really is. They argue
the method lacks objectivity. It can be very difficult for the researcher to
avoid subjectivity and forming biased views of the group being studied.
Also researchers decide what is significant and worth recording and what’s
not, therefore, it depends on the values of the researcher. In extreme cases,
researchers might ‘go native’, where they become sympathatic with the
respondents and omit any negative analysis of their way of life.

A further threat to validity is the ‘Hawthorne Effect’, where people act

differently because they know they are being observed, although
participant observers would counter this by saying that people can’t keep
up an act over long time periods: they will eventually relax and be
themselves.

Source: https://images.app.goo.gl/qwdyr2YEVaxtBMbk9

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c.The representative sample being studied is relatively small.

Participant observation works well when researchers have an opportunity
to directly study a small sample size. When the targeted demographic that
tiny, then it is almost impossible to draw generalizations that impact the
rest of society from the data of being gathered. The information applies
only to a group of individuals. That means this time-consuming approach
may not be beneficial unless the theory or idea under consideration can
receive direct study through the particular group in question.

d. It takes a lot of time to gather factual data using participant

observation.
Participan observation in ethnography is a time-consuming method. This
long-term immersion can be challenging, and requires careful planning.
Most participant observation studies require several weeks, month or
years in the setting in order to embeded researcher and gather enough
observations to build a good rapport before it can start collecting and
analysing the data.

e. Gaining access can also be a problem – many people will not

want to be researched this way, and where covert research is concerned,
researchers are limited by their own characteristics. Not everyone can pass
as a Hells Angel if covert observation is being used!

e. Ethical Disadvantages - Ethical problems are mainly limited to

Covert Participant Observation, in which respondents are deceived and
thus cannot give informed consent to participate in the research. Covert
research does not allow for the participants to give informed consent,
because it involves deception. There is also the issue of privacy being
violated, and the fact that some researchers may have to engage in
criminal acts in order to not blow their cover.

f. Legality - can also be an issue in covert research where researchers

working with deviant groups may have to do illegal acts to maintain their
cover.

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SELF CHECK 1.3

1. Define the term of Ethnocentrism.

2. What is culture relativism?
3. What is participant observation?

SUMMARY

You can now understand participant observation as a type

ofCHECK
SELF
SELF research
CHECK strategy,
1.1 1.2 in which is a widely used methodology
in many disciplines, particularly, cultural anthropology,
but also sociology, communication studies, marketing,
health and social psychology. Its aim is to gain a close and
intimate familiarity with a given group of individuals (such
as a ethnic, religious, occupational, or sub cultural group,
or a particular community) and their practices through an
intensive involvement with people in their natural
environment, usually over an extended period of time.

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KEY TERMS

❖ Complete obervation
❖ Participant as observer
❖ Going native
❖ Hawthrone effect

REFERENCES

 James Spradley.J., 1980. Participant Observation. New York: Holt,

Rinehart, and Winston.

 Mannik, Lynda and KarenMcGarry (eds.) 2017. Practicing

ethnography: a student guide to method and methodology. Toronto:
University of Toronto Press.

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ANSWERS

Why Conduct Participant Observation?

Participant observation helps researchers understand the context of an environment
or social group within a holistic framework. It offers researchers a way to better
understand the physical, social, economic, and cultural contexts in which people
operate. Additionally, participant observation affords important insights because
people often do not do what they think they do or say that they do.

What Should You Consider When Conducting Participant Observation?

• Setting: What is the physical environment like? Describe in detail as many
features as you can. Drawings are also encouraged.
• People: Who is at the site where you are observing? What is their appearance
like? What type of verbal or physical behaviors are they engaging in? Are there
people who stand out? Are people in groups?
• Activities: What activities are taking place? Who is involved? Who initiates the
activity? What were the participants’ verbal and non-verbal reactions to the
activity? What happens at each step of the activity? What are the ‘closure
points’ or signals that this activity is about to end?
• Time: Is there a schedule of events? Times at which people do certain things?
• Is there anything or anybody noticeably missing from your observations?
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Characteristics of field notes;

1. Be accurate.
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Reference

 Nelson, K. (2020). Doing Fieldwork: Methods in Cultural

Anthropology in Nina Brown, Thomas McIlwraith, Laura Tubelle de
González, Perspectives: An Open Introduction to Cultural Anthropology,
(2nd Edition), SACC, The American Anthropological Association.

 Milner, S. 2017. Combining Participatory Tools with Ethnography in

Rural Cambodia, in Understanding Global Development Research:
Fieldwork Issues, Experiences and Reflections, NY: Sage Publication.

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