Data

Gathering
Techniques
M.C. Sanchez
R.S. Batani
 Participant Observation
• Participant observation is the main data collecting
technique in ethnographic research. It requires the
involvement of the researcher with the community
being studied in a natural environment over extended
period of time (De Walt and De Walt. 2002).

• Many aspects of some social milieus are only visible

to insiders and details are only observable through
time. By doing participant observation and spending
extended period of time with the community under
study, detailed information can be gathered,
processes can be outlined, and meanings can be
made sense from the context of a phenomenon.
Participant Observation-
Why?

•Opening up the areas of inquiry to collect a wider range of

data. In most social groups, there are things that outsiders are
simply not allowed to do, see, or know. You cannot collect data
about these things if you aren’t on the inside as a participant.

•Reducing the problem of reactivity. People change their

behavior around outsiders, and if you have an interest in
“normal” behavior, you have to stop being someone around
whom people make these adjustments.

•Enabling researchers to know what questions to ask. Being

embedded in the social context helps researchers learn what
questions are relevant and to ask them in terms that make
sense to the locals
.
Participant Observation- Why?

• Gaining intuitive understanding of the meaning

of your data. Knowing the context.

• Addressing problems that are simply unavailable

to other data collection techniques. For many
types of human experience there are no books,
official sets of rules, or formal training of
children or newcomers. We learn these things by
doing them, and if you want to learn about
them, there is often no substitute for doing them
yourself, as a participant observer.
Participant Observation- How?
Sikolohiyang Pilipino
Participant Observation- How?
Sikolohiyang Pilipino