Participant Observation In Nursing Data Collection
Participant Observation,Purposes of Participant Observation ,Whats Would Needed for Participant Observation,Role of Observer,Role of the Researcher,Concerns in Participant Observation.
Participant Observation
most often associated with naturalistic or qualitative inquiry, and it involves
the researcher as a participant in the scene or observation that is being
studied.
Purposes of Participant Observation
The primary purpose is to gain an insider’s, or emic, view of an
event, setting, or general situation. The researcher focuses on the context of
the scene along with the ways that individuals are behaving. Examples might
include making and participating in observations in a busy emergency room,
observing the ways in which people carry out rites of passage, or participating
in a special feast or occasion.
The researcher attempts to make sense of the
situation by interpreting personal experiences and observations and talking
with individuals who are present, while simultaneously being fully involved in
all of the experiences that occur in that setting.
In this way participant
observation enables the researcher to gain a view of a society but also serves
as a way to validate verbal information that was provided by members of a
society or group being studied.
Another way in which participant observation
may be used in research is with populations in which there is limited
communication, such as very small children, the mentally impaired, or elderly
stroke survivors.
The challenge for the researcher is to combine the activities
of observation and participation so that understanding is achieved while
maintaining an objective distance.
Whats Would Needed for Participant Observation
To carry out participant observation the
researcher needs to decide on
(a) the role of the observer
(b) the degree to
which the role is known to others
(c) the degree to which the purpose is known
to others
(d) the amount of time that will be spent in conducting the
observation
(e ) the scope of the observational focus.
Role of Observer
There is a
continuum along which the role of the observer may be involved that ranges from
involvement of the researcher in all aspects of the observational experience to
only partial or minimal involvement. The researcher bases this determination on
the research question and the nature of the research.
For example, a researcher
who assists in a homeless shelter may wish to be involved in all aspects of the
daily routine; another researcher may wish only to conduct observations in a
busy emergency room for which the routine is more complex. On the other hand,
an invitation to participate in a special ceremony or ritual may involve only
partial participation.
Role of the Researcher
The degree to which the observer’s role and the purpose of the
observation are known to others also is related to the intent of the research.
In some cases the role of the researcher will be known to all, and in others it
may not. If the purpose of the study is to know and understand a particular
ritual or religious ceremony, for example, the role of the researcher may be
known to all involved in the situation.
In other cases the role of the
researcher may be minimized, as in situations in which the informants may not
fully understand the researcher’s participation: observing children on a
playground or in a children’s unit in a hospital.
However, ethical and moral
issues arise when the nature and role of the researcher are not made known to
all of the individuals being observed. The extent to which individuals are
reported varies greatly. from full disclosure to no disclosure, and is often
based on the researcher’s estimate of how scientific truth can best be obtained.
The amount of time the
researcher spends in observation and the scope or focus of the observation also
depend on the purpose and intent of the research. In some cases the participant
observation experiences are carried out for the length and duration of the
research. In other research studies, participant observation may occur at only
one point during the study.
For example, sometimes a researcher may choose to
enter the field and become a participant observer prior to conducting
interviews. This gives the researcher time to learn about a community, group of
people, or situation and then to use this knowledge to develop questions for
subsequent interviews.
In addition, the focus and intent of the observations
may vary from making general observations of the entire situation, context, or
event to very focused observations. For example, a focused observation might
include personal interactions or a specific nursing or caring behavior.
Concerns in Participant Observation
One major concern in using participant observation is the degree to
which subjects may become sensitized to the researcher’s presence and may not
behave as they normally would if the researcher were not present.
The issue of
subject sensitization can be addressed by increasing the duration of time the
researcher spends in the observational experience. A longer time spent in
observing can also enhance and strengthen the researcher’s credibility, as well
as any theoretical and empirical generalizations that are made.
data collection that is used in naturalistic or qualitative research. It is an
approach that allows the researcher to gain an insider’s perspective on a
social situation or event and can permit the researcher to be totally or
minimally involved.Read More