Vijay Ratna Kumar Blog

Quadrant 1 in the above figure represents overt observation. In this situation, the researcher is identified when the study begins, and those under observation are aware that they are being studied. Furthermore, the researcher’s role is only to observe, refraining from participation in the process under observation.

Quadrant 2 represents overt participation. In this arrangement, those being observed also know the researcher, but unlike the situation represented in Quadrant 1, the researcher goes beyond the observer role and becomes a participant in the situation.

Quadrant 3 represents the situation where the researcher’s role is limited to that of observer, but those under observation are not aware they are being studied.

Quadrant 4 represents a study in which the researcher participates in the process under investigation but is not identified as a researcher.

Field Observation Techniques

There are at least six stages in a typical field observation study: choosing the research site, gaining access, sampling, collecting data, analysing data, and exiting.

Choosing the Research Site: The nature of the research question or area of inquiry usually suggests behaviour or a phenomenon of interest. Once it is identified, the next step is to select a setting where the behaviour or phenomenon occurs with sufficient frequency to make observation worthwhile. The settings also should fit the recording forms and instruments the observer plans to use. For example, video recording usually requires adequate lighting for the camera to operate.

Possible research venues can be identified from personal experience, from talking with other researchers, from interviews with people who frequent the site, or from newspaper and magazine stories.

Qualitative researchers should avoid choosing sites where they are well known or have some involvement in the area. Studying one’s own workplace, for example, is difficult because the researcher’s preconceptions may preclude observations that are more objective. Furthermore, at a site where the researcher is a familiar figure, other individuals may find it difficult to relate to a colleague or friend in the role of researcher.

Gaining Access. Once the site is selected, the next step is to establish contact. Gaining access to settings depends on two factors:

(1) How public the setting is; and

 (2) The willingness of the subjects in the setting to be observed.

The easiest setting to enter is one that is open to the public. The most difficult setting to enter is one where entry is restricted because participants have good reason to keep their activities confidential. Gaining permission to conduct field observation research requires persistence and public relations skills.

After the contact is made, rapport must be established with the subject(s). Bogdan and

Taylor (1998) suggests the following techniques for building rapport:

Establish common interests with the participants;

Start relationships slowly;

If appropriate, participate in common events and activities; and

Do not disrupt participant’s normal routines.

Sampling.  Most field observations use purposive sampling, where observers draw on their knowledge of the subject(s) under study and sample only from the relevant behaviours or events. Sometimes previous experience and study of the activity in question suggest what needs to be examined.

Here are some sampling strategies that might be used (Lindlof, 1995):

• Maximum variation sampling: Settings, activities, events, and informants are chosen purposefully to yield as many different and varied situations as possible.

• Snowball sampling: A participant refers the researcher to another person who can provide information. This person, in turn, mentions another, and so forth.

• Typical case sampling: In contrast to the maximum variation technique, the researcher chooses cases that seem to be most representative of the topic under study.

            Collecting Data: The traditional data collection tools—notebook and pencil, a camera can record more information than an observer. Video cameras and video recordings have become more portable and easier to use. In addition to first hand observation, three other data collection techniques are available to field researchers:

diary keeping,            

unobtrusive measures, and

document analysis.

            With the first technique, an investigator routinely supplements his or her field notes by keeping a research diary. This diary consists of personal feelings, sentiments, occasional reflections, and other private thoughts about the research process itself; the writings augment and help interpret the raw data contained in the field notes. Moreover, the researcher may ask the individuals under study to keep a diary for a specified length of time.

            A second data collection technique available to the field researcher is unobtrusive measurement. This technique helps overcome the problem of reactivity by searching out naturally occurring phenomena relevant to the research task. The people who provide data through unobtrusive measurement are unaware that they are providing information for a research project. Covert observation, as previously mentioned, is obviously a technique of this type.

            Finally, existing documents may represent a fertile source of data for the qualitative researcher. In general terms, two varieties of documents are available for analysis:

Public and

Private.

Public documents include police reports, newspaper stories, transcripts of TV shows, data archives, and so on. Other items may be less recognizable as public documents, however; messages on Internet bulletin boards, blogs, websites, company newsletters, tombstones, posters, graffiti, and bumper stickers can all fit into this category.

Private documents, on the other hand, include personal letters, diaries, memos, faxes, emails, home movies and videos, telephone logs, appointment books, reports, and so on

Analysing Data

Concerning the specific technique of field observation, data analysis primarily consists of filing the information and analysing its content. Constructing a filing system is an important step in observation. The purpose of the filing system is to arrange raw field data in an orderly format that is amenable to systematic retrieval later. The overall goal of data analysis in field observation is to arrive at a general understanding of the phenomenon under study. In this regard, the observer has the advantage of flexibility.

Exiting

A researcher acting as a participant must have a plan for leaving the setting or the group under study. Of course, if everyone knows the participant, exiting is not a problem. Exiting from a setting that participants regularly enter and leave is also not a problem. Exiting can be difficult, however, when participation is covert. In some instances, the group may have become dependent on the researcher in some way, and the departure may have a negative effect on the group as a whole. In other cases, the sudden revelation that a group has been infiltrated or duped by an outsider might be unpleasant or distressing to some. The researcher has an ethical obligation to do everything possible to prevent psychological, emotional, or physical injury to those being studied. Consequently, leaving the scene must be handled with diplomacy and tact.

Advantages of Field Observations

Field observation often helps the researcher define basic background information necessary to frame a hypothesis and to isolate independent and dependent variables.

Field observation may also provide access to groups that would otherwise be difficult to observe or examine.

Field observation is usually inexpensive. In most cases, it requires only writing materials or a small audio or video recorder.

Field observation is that the study takes place in the natural setting of the activity being observed and thus can provide data rich in detail and subtlety

Disadvantages of Field Observations

Validation is difficult partly because the representativeness of the observations made is potentially questionable and partly because of problems in sampling.

Since field observation relies heavily on a researcher’s perceptions and judgments and on preconceived notions about the material under study, experimenter bias may favour specific preconceptions of results, while observations to the contrary are ignored or distorted.

Finally, field observations suffer from the problem of reactivity. The very process of being observed may influence the behaviour under study.