Advantages of Participant Observation - Essay Example

What are the advantages and disadvantages of the research method of participant observation? Introduction Schensul, Schensul and LeCompte (1999, p. 91) define participant observation as "the process of learning through exposure to or involvement in the day-to-day or routine activities of participants in the researcher setting." This assignment of actually being involved in a participant observation activity has shown me some of the advantages and disadvantages of this form of research method. Prior to actually performing the activity, I have read through the “Songs at the River’s Edge: Stories from a Bangladeshi Village” by Gardner (1991) to have an idea about what another person experienced when performing a participant observation. Through what I have read and also learnt from the classes, my personal expectations from this activity would be that this would not be a simple form of research although it may seem so as it would require a lot of patience on my behalf and since I am actually studying the subjects/situation from a distance, I have to form a relatively unbiased and objective opinion about what was seen/experienced. The process of objectivity is something which I also feel can be influenced by my own personal prejudices and predispositions. Furthermore, I also noted that I had to establish rapport with the people who make up my researched environment and it would be even better if I was also accepted within that environment. If not, my results may not be as valid as the subjects or situation may react unnaturally or change to suit to my presence. In other words, I have to try to be “invisible.” Advantages of participant observation With reference to my own observation involving the Pentecostal Christian music concert held by Potters House, I noted a few distinct advantages of performing this form of research method. Firstly, participant observation allowed me to make note of the non-verbal expression of feelings showed by the people who also make up the environment and this is something which quantitative research finds it hard to achieve. Although in the field of research, there are questionnaires which have been developed to “measure” human emotions and feelings but the validity of these questionnaires would definitely be less than having the researcher, in this context myself, being present myself and to be involved in the process. This activity also showed me that participant observation was a good way to evaluate the communication process. For example, I could take note myself of how the pastor conveys his message across to the audience, how each member of the group communicate with one another and I also had the opportunity to communicate with a member of the group. The communication process has helped me to be more sensitive towards other cultures and this has also assisted me in correction any inaccuracies or prejudices which I had prior to actually knowing what was happening. Participant observation also allowed me to seek out an explanation for human behaviour. In research, the results from the data collection process regardless of whether it was a quantitative or qualitative research would be of no use if the researcher or author cannot explain or hypothesize why certain results were obtained. Through participant observation, this is even more important as I am trying to explain and study human behaviour. Thus, by actually observing on my own, I have managed to develop a more complete picture of what I was trying to study. My understanding would be further increased if I had interviewed more of the participants and even the pastor himself, thus making the results more specific. Another advantage which I noted during my activity of participant observation is that it gives a lot of information regarding cultural studies. In this context, I was not to measure anything but to observe and to report what happens in a different culture/environment. I was able to be on-site (the church) and this allowed me to slowly familiarize myself towards the community and environment. Although my activity was only for a relatively short time, I did manage to gain valuable information and experience. Thus, I strongly feel that if I had spent more time, my understanding would be even greater. Additionally, although the community was not extremely foreign and I could identify with some of the aspects of the experience such as the music, I could tailor and adapt my observation process to fit the personal and cultural variations which exist in any community. At times, being an observer or participant can also uncover certain key issues which can help the researcher have a better and deeper understanding of cultural and religious behaviour. Thus, through my own observation of the happenings at the Pentecostal Christian music concert, I have noted of some of the advantages of the participant observation activity. I feel that this is the best way to observe human interaction and communication as well as to let me look into the complexities of human behaviour. This also allowed me to have a deeper respect for other cultures, religions and environments. Disadvantages of participant observation I also noted some disadvantages during my own experience in participant observation. One of the first disadvantages which I took note of immediately was that it caused me to feel awkward. This was because although I was not in an environment which was completely foreign or alien to me, I was in unfamiliar surroundings and I had never experienced such an event before in my life. I did not know anyone in the crowd and could not identify with anyone who was in a similar situation as I was in. thus, I can foresee that if I used participant observation in a completely different environment, for example in a tribal community in Africa, my feelings of awkwardness would be multiplied by many times and this may affect my research activity. Additionally, I also felt a mixture of feelings including fear as I was not in my comfort zone. However, on a positive note, after a while, some of these feelings of fear and awkwardness lessened and I could enjoy the event. During my activity of participant observation, I also felt that this process may not allow me to truly find out the true representation of what I was studying, in this case the African American community. For example, by only observing this group of people, my impression of African Americans would be that they consisted of religious people who wanted to help strangers find salvation through Jesus. There is the issue of who actually makes up my group of informants. Thus, if I had really wanted to get a picture of who the African Americans were, my activity of participant observation should not only be limited to that of the church community but it should also include observation activities of other places such as schools, the marketplace and also talking to as many African Americans from all walks of life in order to get a more complete and unbiased perspective. If this does not occur, many problems of misinterpretation can occur as highlighted by the Mead-Freeman controversy in 1928 (Mead, 1928; Côté, 1994) where the usage of inadequate informants led to the misinterpretation of the Samoan people. Additionally, I have to also be selective in who I choose to interview as well as even within my activity, I am certain that the information which I derive from the pastor and other members of the congregation would be different. Another disadvantage of participant observation which I have noted during this activity is that since I was forming my own description and opinions on what I was observing, I feel that this would be the source of a lot of errors and biases. During this activity, I had wanted to see for myself the events in this Pentecostal music concert but at the same time, even before I had stepped into the venue, I had already pre-formed in my mind of what I may expect although I came to realize at the end of the activity that I was surprised by the whole event. As much as I had thought that this was going to be a musical event involving rap music, I found out that the music was actually part of the communication of messages in a community which had a common interest (Christianity). Thus, if I needed to perform another participant observation activity in the future, I would systematically document what I see and record in detail every event with minimal preconceptions. I feel that this would make my observation more accurate and I may not miss out certain key cultural aspects which could have been overshadowed by my own preconceptions. As mentioned earlier, prior to the activity, I knew that I had to build rapport with the community which I was observing. This has been supported by Sherif (2001) in his work “The Ambiguity of Boundaries in the Fieldwork Experience: Establishing Rapport and Negotiating Insider/Outsider Status.” Why I would consider this a disadvantage in the activity would be if indeed I had built a higher level of rapport with the community, I may actually be asked to join in certain activities usually not for observers/outsiders which may not be acceptable to myself but in order to maintain the rapport (so that I can gain invaluable information), I may have to give in. Additionally, I find that participant observation can be time consuming. Although my activity only took a short while, I foresee that if I had wanted to know more, I would definitely have to put in more time. Assessment of report This form of ethnography which I have done for the activity can also be called a descriptive observation where I had observed anything and everything and tried to minimize any preconceptions (which unfortunately I had). I had firstly observed the church which made up the physical environment. Next, I took note of the event and documented the activities and interactions which took place. In my opinion, participant observation has allowed me to have a greater insight on cultural experiences but the documentation process would be more difficult as it had relied a lot on my memory and I tried to be as objective as possible. References Côté, J. E. 1994. Adolescent storm and stress. An evaluation of the Mead/Freeman controversy. Hillside, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Gardner, K. 1991. Songs at the River’s Edge: Stories from a Bangladeshi Village. London: Pluto Press, 1997. Mead, M. 1928. Coming of Age in Samoa. New York: Morrow Schensul, SL., Schensul, JJ., & LeCompte, MD. 1999. Essential ethnographic methods: observations, interviews, and questionnaires (Book 2 in Ethnographer's Toolkit). Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. Sherif, B. 2001. ‘The Ambiguity of Boundaries in the Fieldwork Experience: Establishing Rapport and Negotiating Insider/Outsider Status.’ Qualitative Inquiry, vol. 7: pg. 436 Read More