Participant Observation

• What is PO?


  A researcher joins in with the activities of the group being studied - covert
• What type of research is PO?

  Primary
• What type of data does PO obtain?

  Qualitative
• Who is PO favoured by?

  Interpretivists
• Examples of PO?


  James Patrick - A Glasgow Gang observed
• Practical advantages of PO?

  Access to research population - only way to access some groups like criminals
• Practical limitations of PO?

  Researcher characteristics

  Difficult to record observations if done covertly
• Ethical advantages of PO?

  Overt - informed consent
• Ethical disadvantages of PO?

  Covert - cannot get informed consent and deceive participants

  Cannot protect participants from harm
• Theoretical advantages of PO?

  Highly valid - natural environment

  Verstehen
• Theoretical limitations of PO?

  Lacks reliability - cannot be replicated

  Lacks representativeness - small sample size