Nonparticipant Observation

Nonparticipation observation is a relatively unobtrusive qualitative research strategy for gathering primary data about some aspect of the social world without interacting directly with its participants. Nonparticipant observers sometimes are physically copresent with research participants in a naturalistic setting, but other times may not be present in the setting.

Researchers may engage in nonparticipant observation for a number of reasons. First, the researcher may have limited or no access to a particular group and therefore may not have the opportunity to engage in participant observation. For example, a researcher might be interested in studying the social behaviors of professional athletes on the field or how parents control their children in public settings, yet is neither an athlete nor a parent. In both cases, nonparticipant observers could take a position within the setting and record what they observe without interacting directly with participants.

Second, the research setting might be one in which participant observation would be dangerous or difficult. Doing research on riots or mobs, for example, is difficult because of their spontaneous nature. Researching collective action (e.g., demonstrations, protests) directly may be undesirable. In these settings, researchers may rely on video recorded by news agencies or insiders to observe social behavior. Film and video use also allows for the observation of historical social phenomena.

Third, the researcher may be interested less in the subjectively experienced dimensions of social action and more in reified patterns that emerge from such action. For example, one may derive insight from observing how people utilize public space, such as a national park, an internet café, a mall, or a classroom, without interacting with users. The question of researcher reactivity arises here, that is, questioning the extent to which nonparticipant observation potentially affects the setting.

Nonparticipant observation may be overt or covert, occurring in public or private settings. Unique ethical issues will arise with each combination: the covert observer in a public setting must deal with a different set of ethical considerations than an overt observer in a public setting, and so on. Each combination will also affect how the observer might collect data. Typical strategies include writing fieldnotes or audio- or videorecording social action. Recording behavior overtly might be interpreted by participants as exceptional or intrusive, thus potentially affecting their behavior, while covert observation may break ethics norms.

Digital media such as the internet provide opportunities for new forms of nonparticipant observation. Researchers may have an interest in the interactions among members of an internet community to which they do not belong. Given the open access and anonymity associated with many digital spaces, non- participant observers could register with a digital community and “lurk,” reading all the messages posted by community members without ever posting themselves. Researchers may browse web pages, create avatars in digital worlds, or subscribe to email lists—each providing an opportunity for observation with minimal [Page 562]impact on the setting. Data from digital media are often more easily recorded because the researcher can use screenshots, copy-and-paste functions, and save messages and logs.