Participant Observation A Guide for Fieldworkers

by (DeWalt), Kathleen Musante; DeWalt, Billie R.

• ISBN13: 9780759119277
• ISBN10: 0759119279
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-12-16
• Publisher: AltaMira Press

Summary

Qualitative research in such diverse areas as sociology, education, nursing, and medical research draws on the insights gained through the use of participant observation for gaining greater understanding of phenomena from the point of view of participants. This book serves as a basic primer for the beginning researcher and as a useful reference and guide for experienced researchers who wish to re-examine their own skills and abilities in light of best practices of participant observation.

Author Biography

Kathleen M. DeWalt is professor of anthropology and public health and director of the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of Pittsburgh. Billie R. DeWalt is the founding president and director of the Musical Instrument Museum in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
What is Participant Observation?	p. 1
The Method of Participant Observation	p. 1
History of the Method	p. 5
Why Participant Observation Is Important	p. 10
Enhancing the Quality of Data Collection and Analysis	p. 10
Formulating New Research Questions	p. 15
Notes	p. 16
Learning to be a Participant Observer: Theoretical Issues	p. 19
Learning To Be a Participant Observer	p. 20
Observation and Participation	p. 21
Participation and Observation: An Oxymoron in Action?	p. 28
What Determines the Role a Researcher Will Adopt?	p. 30
Limits to Participation?	p. 33
Beyond the Reflexivity Frontier	p. 35
Participant Observation on the Fast Track	p. 38
Notes	p. 39
Doing Participant Observation: Becoming a Participant	p. 41
Entering the Field	p. 41
First Contact	p. 44
Establishing Rapport	p. 47
Breaking Through	p. 54
Talking the Talk	p. 56
Walking the Walk	p. 58
Making Mistakes	p. 61
Notes	p. 66
The Costs of Participation: Culture Shock	p. 67
Coping with Culture Shock	p. 73
Participating and Parenting: Children and Field Research	p. 74
Reverse Culture Shock (Reentry Shock)	p. 77
Note	p. 78
Doing Participant Observation: Becoming an Observer	p. 79
The Role of Theory and Conceptual Frameworks	p. 80
Taking the Observer Role	p. 81
Attending to Detail: Mapping the Scene	p. 81
(Participatory) Community Mapping	p. 84
Counting	p. 85
Attending to Conversation	p. 87
Field Notes as a Training Tool for Observation	p. 87
Seeing Old Events with New Eyes	p. 88
Practicing and Improving Observation and Memory	p. 88
What to Observe	p. 89
Just Experiencing	p. 92
Limits to Observation	p. 92
Ethnographer Bias	p. 94
Notes	p. 96
Gender an Sex Issues in Participant Observation	p. 99
The Gendered Ethnographer	p. 99
Up Close and Personal: Sex in the Field	p. 102
Note	p. 108
Designing Research with Participant Observation	p. 109
Participant Observation and Research Design	p. 109
Fundamentals of Design of Participant Observation	p. 111
Objectivity	p. 111
Reliability	p. 112
Elements of Design	p. 123
Choosing a Question	p. 123
Appropriate Questions	p. 124
Choosing a Site	p. 126
Appropriate Methods and the Benefits of Triangulation	p. 127
Enhancing Representativeness: Sampling in Participant Observation	p. 128
Proposing Participant Observation	p. 133
Research Objectives	p. 135
Notes	p. 136
Informal Interviewing in Participant Observation	p. 137
Types of Interviews	p. 138
Interview Techniques	p. 142
Active Listening	p. 142
Sensitive Silence	p. 143
The Uh-huh Prompt	p. 145
Repetition Feedback	p. 147
Summary Feedback	p. 148
Asking Questions in Interviewing	p. 149
Tell Me More	p. 149
For Clarification	p. 150
Naïve Questions	p. 150
Avoiding Confrontation	p. 151
Changing Topics	p. 152
Talking About Sensitive Subjects	p. 153
Concluding an Interview	p. 155
Notes	p. 156
Writing Field Notes	p. 157
History	p. 157
Kinds of Field Notes	p. 160
Jot Notes	p. 160
Expanded Notes: Field Notes Proper	p. 165
Methodological Notes	p. 168
Diaries and Journals	p. 168
Logs	p. 169
Meta-notes/Analytic Notes	p. 170
Headnotes	p. 171
Field Notes in Virtual Research	p. 173
How to Record	p. 174
Research Integrity: Who Owns the Field Notes	p. 176
Notes	p. 178
Analyzing Field Notes	p. 179
Process of Data Analysis	p. 180
Managing Qualitative Data	p. 180
Data Reduction	p. 181
Approaches to Indexing	p. 184
Coding for Themes	p. 189
Coding for Characteristics	p. 192
Managing Coding and Indexing	p. 192
Word Searches	p. 193
Data Display	p. 196
Quotes	p. 196
Vignettes and Cases	p. 197
Tables and Matrices	p. 198
Charts	p. 199
Decision Modeling	p. 202
Interpretation and Verification	p. 202
Audit Trails	p. 205
Writing Up	p. 207
Notes	p. 210
Ethical Concerns in Participant Observation	p. 211
Need for Competency	p. 212
The Meaning of Informed Consent in Participant Observation	p. 214
Right to Privacy	p. 218
Ethical Conduct of Participant Observation in Online Settings	p. 219
Ethical Publication	p. 221
Relationships	p. 222
Ethics and the Limits to Participation	p. 224
Note	p. 226
Appendix: Sample Field Notes from Three Projects	p. 227
Bibliography	p. 251
Index	p. 265
About the Authors	p. 277
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