Distinguish between participant and
non-participant observation and analyze
their merits and demerits.
Answers
Answer:
This article will throw light on the two important types of observation done in social research, i.e, (1) Participant Observation, and (2) Non-Participant Observation.
Type 1# Participant Observation:
The participant observation means watching the events or situation or activities from inside by taking part in the group to be observed. He freely interacts with the other group members, participates in various activities of the group, acquires the way of life of the observed group or his own, and studies their behaviour or other activities not as an outsider but by becoming a member of that group.
Goode and Hatt define participant observation as “the procedure used when the investigator can go disguise himself as to be accepted as a member of the group”. So in this kind of observation the observer has to stay as a member in the group he wants to study.
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According to P.V. Young, “the participant observer using non-controlled observation, generally lives or otherwise shares in the life of the group which he is studying”.
Some of the examples of studies using the method of participant observation are: W.F. White’s study of Cornville social and Athletic Club and P.V. Young’s study of Molokan people. The famous studies of Margaret Mead on primitive societies were also based on participant observation.
For the success of participant observation it is essential that the respondents being studied should not have any doubt about the intention of the research worker. A fruitful result of participant observation is very much dependent upon the resourcefulness, tactfulness, personality manners and wit of the research worker.
Advantages of Participant Observation:
The following are the merits of participant observation:
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(a) Observation of natural behaviour:
The natural behaviour of the respondent can be studied by participant observation. When a group knows that they are going to be observed by a stranger, they feel conscious, uncomfortable and therefore neutrality in their behaviour and activity is lost. But in case of the participant observation, the respondents do not know that they are being observed. So their behaviour is not constrained by the conscious feeling of being observed by a stranger.
(b) Closeness with the group:
In participant observation, the observer has a very good rapport with the respondents. He has a very close primary relationship with the group members. Because of this he can participate in all activities from a close angle and thus can better interpret the situation than a non-participant observer.
Explanation:
c) Studying the real character:
Often in order to study the actual behaviour, the group research requires close participation and contact with the group members. Through participant observation the observer can make an intensive and inclusive study of the group and can gain into the real character of such group.
(d) Better Understanding:
In participant observation the observer can better understood the feeling of the respondents than an outsider. For example, a person who is actually living in a slum area can realise the feeling and hardship of the slum dwellers in a better way than an outsider.