Participant observation: a guide for fieldworkers

Machine generated contents note: ch. 1 What is Participant Observation?

The Method of Participant Observation

History of the Method

Why Participant Observation is Important

Enhancing the Quality of Data Collection and Analysis

Formulating New Research Questions

Notes

ch. 2 Learning to be a Participant Observer: Theoretical Issues

Learning to be a Participant Observer

Observation and Participation

Participation and Observation: An Oxymoron in Action?

What De4termines the Role a Researcher will Adopt?

Limits to Participation?

Beyond the Reflexivity Frontier

Participant Observation on the Fast Track

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ch. 3 Doing Participant Observation: Becoming a Participant

Entering the Field

First Contact

Establishing Rapport

Breaking Through

Talking the Talk

Walking the Walk

Making Mistakes

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Ch. 4 The Costs of Participation: Culture Shock

Coping with Culture Shock

Participating and Parenting: Children and Field Research

Reverse Culture Shock (Reentry Shock)

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ch. 5 Doing Participant Observation: Becoming an Observer

The Role of Theory and Conceptual Frameworks

Taking the Observer Role

Attending to Detail: Mapping the Scene

(Participatory) Community Mapping

Counting

Attending to Conversation

Field Notes as a Training Tool for Observation

Seeing Old Events with New Eyes

Practicing and Improving Observation and Memory

What to Observe

Just Experiencing

Limits to Observation

Ethnographer Bias

Notes

ch. 6 Gender and Sex Issues in Participant Observation

The Gendered Ethnographer

Up Close and Personal: Sex in the Field

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ch. 7 Designing Research with Participant Observation

Participant Observation and Research Design

Fundamentals of Design of Participant Observation

Objectivity

Reliability

Elements of Design

Choosing a Question

Appropriate Questions

Choosing a Site

Appropriate Methods and the Benefits of Triangulation

Enhancing Representativeness: Sampling in Participant Observation

Proposing Participant Observation

Research Objectives

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ch. 8 Informal Informal Interviewing in Participant Observation

Types of Interviews

Interview Techniques

Active Listening

Sensitive Silence

The Uh-huh Prompt

Repetition Feedback

Summary Feedback

Asking Questions in Interviewing

Tell Me More

For Clarificaition

Naive Questions

Avoiding Confrontation

Changing Topics

Talking About Sensitive Subjects

Concluding an Interview

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ch. 9 Writing Field Notes

History

Kinds of Field Notes

Jot Notes

Expanded Notes: Field Notes Proper

Methodological Notes

Diaries and Journals

Logs

Meta-notes/Analytic Notes

Headnotes

Field Notes in Virtual Research

How to Record

Research Integrity: Who Owns the Field Notes

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Ch. 10 Analyzing Field Notes

Process of Data Analysis

Managing Qualitative Data

Data Reduction

Approachess to Indexing

Coding for Themes

Coding for Characteristics

Managing Coding and Indexing

Word Searches

Data Display

Quotes

Vognettes and Cases

Tables and Matrices

Charts

Decision Modeling

Interpretation and Verification

Audit Trails

Writing Up

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ch. 11 Ethical Concerns in Participant Observation

Need for Competency

The Meaning of Informed Consent in Participant Observation

Right to Privacy

Ethical Conduct of Participant Observation in Online Settings

Ethical Publication

Relationships

Ethics and the Limits to Participation

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