ParticipantObservation

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Participant-Observation

• INFO 272. Qualitative Research Methods

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Admin

• i272_at_ischool.berkeley.edu
• Waiting list people

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Remember

• Evenly distributed attention
• Directness of observation and description (w/o
  interpretation) to challenge conventional
  thinking, discover new categories, concepts
  Becker
• Logging more data than you know you will need

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Your Role

• Open, semi-open, semi-closed, closed settings (a
  range)
• Covert vs. Overt Lofland and Lofland
• The known investigator is he/she really overt?

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Ethics

• Respect for persons
• Beneficence
• Justice

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Informed Consent

• People must be given the opportunity to choose
  what shall or shall not happen to them.
• What the research is about (in understandable
  language)
• The option to discontinue at any time
• No coercion

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Anonymity

• protect identities, names, place names,
  identifying features

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Note Taking

• when? as soon as possible
• where? somewhere unobtrusive
• what? a running description of events, people,
  things heard and overheard, conversations among
  people, conversations with people. Lofland
  and Lofland

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Note Taking best practices
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Jottings vs. full field notes
There are a series of testimonials. A young man
says he had a dream that some specific electronic
items in his room were stolen. As a result of
the dream he removed the items to another place.
The landlady told him she wasnt worried about
things being stolen. Then one night when the man
was at a church event (New Years prayer service)
and someone broke in to the place. The
landladys things were stolen and the things he
had moved were safe. It is pointed out in this
testimony that the landlady belonged to another
church a competitor. Second testimonial
things are going well with this young man. He is
being promoted at work, then a stranger comes
into the office and touches his rib. Afterwards
he falls ill and is sick for a few months. The
rib-toucher is described as a devil I see
allusions to witchcraft, sorcery someone who
wishes for the downfall of this young man, but he
recovers. Third testimonial girl wishes for
things in life to go to university (which she
does) to go on holiday to the UK (which she
does). travel abroad He calls up a woman from
the audience. He gives some sort of prophecy
about what will happen to her. She is very
emotional and screams out and keeps falling
backwards. The reverend comes towards here and
this force he is using pushes her backwards a
spiritual positive force (as opposed to the next
woman who is possessed by an evil force). ..