Participant observation definition5/17/2023 ![]() ![]() Businesses often use this approach because it is an authentic way to capture a targeted demographic’s changing attitudes about specific consumer products or services. This option for qualitative research does not always need to focus on the big picture. Participant observation can capture changing attitudes. Participant observation is useful for studying groups like gangs, issues like juvenile delinquency, and cult-based religious indoctrination.ĥ. Participant observation allows data collectors to gain more trust and rapport so that we can get more information about particular groups. The individuals are naturally more suspicious of anything or anyone that is different. When a specific demographic has trust issues with researchers or the people live in isolation, then accessing these groups can be challenging. It provides practical advantages to data collection that other methods cannot use. It provides factual data instead of forcing people to make assumptions about the behaviors or decisions that people make.Ĥ. Each person gets to act as a member of that small group so that it is possible to glean more insight into specific points of view, social values, and the meaning of other actions. Researchers using the participant observation method gain an opportunity to develop empathy through their personal experiences with the targeted demographic. More insights become available because of participant observation. Participant observation is not bound by the same rules as the quantitative methods if something does not fit an expectation.ģ. This approach allows researchers to learn answers to questions that they may not know to ask when they first start their participant observation work. ![]() It allows researchers to maintain an open mind, giving them opportunities to follow up on different ideas, theories, and directions if something interesting occurs during their work. ![]() Participant observation provides more flexibility with regard to qualitative research than other methods that use this approach. Participant observation provides high levels of flexibility for researchers. ![]() It also provides the advantage of disproving specific ideas because of the direct observations that create data.Ģ. Because each person involved in this work gets to see these social encounters personally, the first-hand information becomes useful to prove the validity of proposed theories. It allows researchers to receive a clear picture of how people are living and interacting with each other. The participant observation approach collects an abundant amount of qualitative data that is useful in a variety of postulations. It provides results that lend validity to a proposed theory. List of the Advantages of Participant Observationġ. Several advantages and disadvantages of participant observation are worth noting when approaching a qualitative research project. 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. Occupational, religious, and geographical demographics are common points of interest when evaluating communication studies, social psychology, or cultural anthropology. 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.Īny community can become part of a participant observation method of data collection. Participant observation is a specific type of data collection typically used in ethnography or qualitative research. ![]()
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