Participant Observation

Definition

The method of participant observation describes and explains people’s behavior in their everyday basis. This method requires a researcher to immerse himself or herself in a new culture. The researcher participates in people’s daily lives and records what he or she sees and hears. Through observation, anthropologists can collect data for meaningful analysis. Participant observation is the field work that anthropologists conduct in their research sites. Most anthropological field work takes a year or more although applied anthropologists usually conduct their field work within a couple of months or less.

Data Obtained

Participant observation produces detailed descriptions of what anthropologists see and hear in their sites. The researchers’ interpretations and analysis are also an important part of the data. In addition, anthropologists collect the following data through participant observations:  

• Photographs and/or sketches

• Audio-tapes of people talking and/or telling stories

• Video-tapes of people’s activities, such as cooking, arguing and participating in ceremonies

• Transcriptions of questions that researchers ask

• Materials related to sites, such as brochures and maps

• Records of researchers’ feelings and insights

Participant observation is not only for those anthropologists who study different cultures in foreign countries. Researchers also use participant observation when they study particular groups and organizations in their own societies. One may even conduct participant observations in his or her community’s school, fire station, diner, church, homeless shelter, hospital, or laundromat.

Advantages

Participant observation is considered to be the foundation of cultural anthropological research for the following three reasons:

First, this method makes it possible for an anthropologist to collect all necessary data. By experiencing daily lives of people, the researcher can establish close relationships with them. This trust is crucial for obtaining valid data because otherwise people may not be open to a researcher who is an outsider.

Secondly, participant observations help an anthropologist formulate effective questions for people. By experiencing people’s daily lives, the researcher can learn common knowledge shared among the people. This knowledge enables the researcher to ask appropriate questions that make sense to the people.

Thirdly, an anthropologist can develop intuitive understanding of culture through participant observations. The more the researcher becomes familiar with people’s lives, the more he or she can effectively read the meanings of the data collected. This ability leads the anthropologist to draw reliable conclusions from the research.

Sources:

• Angrosino, Michael V. 2002 Doing Cultural Anthropology: Projects for Ethnographic Data Collection. Prospect Heights: Waveland Press.
  
  

• Bernard, Russell H. 2002 Research Methods in Anthropology: Qualitative and Quantitative Methods. Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press.

This page was created by a Minnesota State University, Mankato student. Last updated 11/14/04.