Participant Observation

https://sites.google.com/site/ba762researchmethods/schedule-1/participatory-observation/QualQuant.pdf?attredirects=0&d=1

An introduction to participant observation and in-depth interviewing techniques along with a very brief overview of qualitative (grounded theory) and quantitative (content analysis) text analysis methods. Participant observation is often called ethnography, although technically an ethnography is the output of participant observation.

Key questions to be able to discuss in class:

• what are the differences between emic and etic research?

• what does Wenger's vignette approach accomplish?

• What is Spradley's aim in virtually all of his interview methods?

• discuss points of commonality between grounded theory and Spradlerian interviewing

• what are the strengths and weaknesses of participant observation?

• Discuss: "coding is a tool used to study how people code the world"

Additional topics I will discuss:

• the ethnographic sandwich

• liberating, educating and exposing our informants

Primary Readings

• Goodwin, Charles (1994). "Professional Vision." American Anthropologist 96(3):606-633 [pdf]

  • Borgatti. Notes on Professional Vision

• Spradley, James. The Ethnographic Interview. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.

  • Borgatti. Notes on Spradley

• Corbin, Juliet and Anselm Strauss. 2007. Basics of Qualitative Research. Sage.

  • Borgatti. Introduction to Grounded Theory [html]

  • Pandit. Creation of theory: A recent example [html]

Secondary Readings

• Wenger, E. Vignette 1. from Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge university press. [htm]

• Borgatti. Handout on Communities of practice. [html] (added 15 Sept -- shows what the vignette led to)

• Borgatti. Handout on Participant Observation. [html]

• Borgatti. Handout on Coding. [html]

Handouts

• the qualquant distinction [pdf]