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NATURALISTIC AND PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION 407
reflections on the methods used in the
observations and data collection and analysis
ethical issues, tensions, problems and dilemmas
the reactions of the observer to what has been
observed and recorded – attitude, emotion,
analysis etc.
points of clarification that have been and/or
need to be made
possible lines of further inquiry.
Lincoln and Guba (1985: 327) indicate three
main types of item that might be included in
ajournal:
adailyschedule,includingpracticalmatters
(e.g. logistics)
apersonaldiary,forreflection,speculationand
catharsis
notes on and a log of methodology.
In deciding on what to focus, Wilkinson (2000:
228) suggests an important distinction between
observing molecular and molar units of behaviour.
Small units of behaviour are molecular, for
example gestures, non-verbal behaviour, short
actions, short phrases of a conversation. While
these yield very specific data, they risk being
taken out of context, such that their meanings
and, thereby, their validity, are reduced. By
contrast, the molar approach deals in large units
of behaviour, the size of which is determined by
the theoretical interests of the researcher. The
researcher must ensure that the units of focus are
valid indicators of the issues of concern to the
researcher.
From all this we suggest that the data should
be comprehensive enough to enable the reader
to reproduce the analysis that was performed. It
should focus on the observable and make explicit
the inferential, and that the construction of
abstractions and generalizations might commence
early but should not starve the researcher of novel
channels of inquiry (Sacks 1992).
Observations include both oral and visual data.
In addition to the observer writing down details
in field notes, a powerful recording device is
through audio-visual recording (Erickson 1992:
209–10). Comprehensive audio-visual recording
can overcome the partialness of the observer’s
view of a single event and can overcome the
tendency towards recording only the frequently
occurring events. Audio-visual data collection
has the capacity for completeness of analysis
and comprehensiveness of material, reducing
the dependence on prior interpretations by the
researcher. Of course, one has to be cautious
here, for installing video cameras might create
the problem of reactivity. If fixed they might be
as selective as participant observers, and even
if movable, they might still be highly selective
(Morrison 1993: 91).
The context of observation is important
(Silverman 1993: 146). Indeed Spradley (1979)
and Kirk and Miller (1986) suggest that observers
should keep four sets of observational data to
include:
notes made in situ
expanded notes that are made as soon as
possible after the initial observations
journal notes to record issues, ideas, difficulties
etc. that arise during the fieldwork
a developing, tentative running record of
ongoing analysis and interpretation.
The intention here is to introduce some
systematization into observations in order to
increase their reliability. In this respect Silverman
(1993) reminds us of the important distinction
between etic and emic analysis. Etic analysis uses the
conceptual framework of the researcher, while emic
approaches use the conceptual frameworks of those
being researched. Structured observation uses etic
approaches, with predefined frameworks that are
adhered to unswervingly, while emic approaches sit
comfortably within qualitative approaches, where
the definitions of the situations are captured
through the eyes of the observed.
Participant observation studies are not without
their critics. The accounts that typically emerge
from participant observations echo the criticisms
of qualitative data outlined earlier, being described
as subjective, biased, impressionistic, idiosyncratic
and lacking in the precise quantifiable measures
that are the hallmark of survey research and
experimentation. While it is probably true that
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