Participant Observation

Participant observation is a method used by social science researchers to learn more about various groups of people, including those engaged in taboo or deviant behaviors. More specifically, researchers can use participant observation to acquire firsthand knowledge about how individuals in groups interact with one another as well as with their surrounding environment. For example, researchers who want to learn about how street-level drug transactions are performed (from initial contact between the buyer and seller to the exchanging of goods), how public sexual encounters occur (e.g., the verbal and nonverbal cues used to initiate such encounters), or how drag show performers interact with one another both on- and offstage can use participant observation to temporarily become a part of those groups and acquire an insider's view of the settings.

Participant observation provides a rich understanding of a particular group that may be difficult to attain using other methods such as using surveys to inquire about peoples' perceptions of various groups about whom they may have no intimate knowledge. Participant observation also helps the researcher gain knowledge about groups in which no official data sources with information about a group exist. In addition, with participant observation research, the researcher often gets more than one opportunity to interact with members of a particular group or to be part of a setting. If a researcher is interviewing one or more members of a group only one time, the knowledge that can be acquired is limited in comparison with that which can be obtained when the researcher can go back to a group on multiple occasions.

Participant observation research falls into two distinct categories: overt and covert. Overt participant observation occurs when a particular group is aware of the researcher's presence in the group and is aware that the group is being examined for research purposes. This typically involves research subjects who are willing and consenting participants in a study. Conversely, covert participant observation occurs when a particular group may be aware of the researcher's presence (or may not be aware of his or her presence) but does not know the true identity of the researcher and is unaware that the group is being examined for research purposes. Covert research is practical in attaining information about groups who may never agree to be knowingly researched because they frequently engage in illegal or nonconventional activities or in situations where there is no other way to acquire the desired knowledge about a group using other methods.

Researchers who perform participant observation research experience a number of practical and ethical challenges. In terms of practical challenges, the researcher must initially gain trust among a group's members and take steps to blend within the group. The researcher must also be cognizant of his or her personal safety when researching groups that are known to be dangerous, such as drug dealers or outlaw motorcycle gangs. Also, the participant observer must try to not become too much a part of the group as doing so may cause the researcher to lose sight of the goals of a particular project, which [Page 488]may, in turn, have negative effects on the knowledge gained from a project.

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