Russel-Research-Method-in-Anthropology

356 Chapter 13
participant observation is ‘‘good.’’ I can’t say often enough that participant
observation makes it possible to collect quantitative survey data or qualitative
interview data from some sample of a population. Qualitative and quantitative
data inform each other and produce insight and understanding in a way that
cannot be duplicated by either approach alone. Whatever data collection methods
you choose, participant observation maximizes your chances for making
valid statements.
5. Many research problems simply cannot be addressed adequately by anything
except participant observation. If you want to understand how a local court
works, you can’t very well disguise yourself and sit in the courtroom unnoticed.
The judge would soon spot you as a stranger, and, after a few days, you would
have to explain yourself. It is better to explain yourself at the beginning and get
permission to act as a participant observer. In this case, your participation consists
of acting like any other local person who might sit in on the court’s proceedings.
After a few days, or weeks, you would have a pretty good idea of how the
court worked: what kinds of crimes are adjudicated, what kinds of penalties are
meted out, and so forth. You might develop some specific hypotheses from your
qualitative notes—hypotheses regarding covariations between severity of punishment
and independent variables other than severity of crime. Then you could test
those hypotheses on a sample of courts.
Think this is unrealistic? Try going down to your local traffic court and see
whether defendants’ dress or manner of speech predict variations in fines for
the same infraction. The point is, getting a general understanding of how any
social institution or organization works—the local justice system, a hospital,
a ship, or an entire community—is best achieved through participant observation.
Entering the Field
Perhaps the most difficult part of actually doing participant observation
fieldwork is making an entry. There are five rules to follow.
1. There is no reason to select a site that is difficult to enter when equally good sites
are available that are easy to enter (see chapter 3). In many cases, you will have
a choice—among equally good villages in a region, or among school districts,
hospitals, or cell blocks. When you have a choice, take the field site that promises
to provide easiest access to data.
2. Go into the field with plenty of written documentation about yourself and your
project. You’ll need formal letters of introduction—at a minimum, from your
university, or from your client if you are doing applied work on a contract. Let-