HLTB15H3 Lecture 5: Chapters 6&8- lecture 5
Document Summary
Participant observation: about gathering data in day to day lives. Participant observation is when the observer spends an extended period of time in a natural setting, following the activities as part of a research. Participant observation is resource intensive in terms of human resources rather than technology. There are concerns with participant observation: the close relationships between researchers and subjects developed during fieldwork, the emergent nature of most research designs, the fact that participant observation characteristically involves thick description of natural settings and subjects. The strengths of participant observation studies lie in their ability to shed light on issues that other methods are less effective in investigating. Must write what we see, but not what it means to us. Interpretation may be influenced of observers own bias (like or dislike) of particular people. Next step is critical research- aims to examine the relationships between practioners and patients and between, and within, professional groups.
