
Participant Observation JenniferS. Dinaburg Research Design Spring 2009
Outline • Definitions • Claims • Complications • Considerations • Applications • Questions?
Definitions • Disciplined Curiosity • Learning How to Ask • Immersion • Encounter • Embodied Practice
Claims • The Everyday Matters • The World is More Than Words • Context • Co-fabrication
Complications • You are on your own here • The wrong place at the wrong time • You matter, but don’t go nuts • Accountability. Rigor. Science.
Considerations • Field Notes • The Art of Observing & Participating • The Art of Confusion • Self-Reflexivity and Self-Awareness • Being a Good and Humble Learner • Ethics and Good Judgment
Applications • Growing • Social Sciences • Journalism • Education • Business and Marketing • Medical Research