Editing Participant observation (section)

=== Howell's phases of participant observation ===
In participant observation, a researcher's discipline based interests and commitments shape which events he or she considers are important and relevant to the research inquiry.<ref name="Emerson">Emerson, R. M., Fretz, R. I., & Shaw, L. L. (2001). "Participant Observation and Fieldnotes." In Paul Atkinson, Amanda Coffey, Sara Delamont, John Lofland, & Lyn Lofland (Eds.), ''Handbook of Ethnography.'' pp: 356-357. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.</ref> According to Howell (1972), the four stages that most participant observation research studies are establishing rapport or getting to know the people, immersing oneself in the field, recording data and observations, and consolidating the information gathered.<ref name="Howell">{{cite book|last=Howell|first=Joseph T.|title=Hard Living on Clay Street: Portraits of Blue Collar Families|publisher=Waveland Press, Inc.|year=1972|isbn=0881335266|location=Prospect Heights, IL}}</ref>

The phases are as follows:<ref name="Howell" />{{rp|392–403}}

* '''Establishing Rapport''': Get to know the members, visit the scene before study. Howell<ref name="Howell" /> states that it is important to become friends, or at least be accepted in the community, in order to obtain quality data.
* '''In the Field''' (do as the locals do): It is important for the researcher to connect or show a connection with the population in order to be accepted as a member of the community. DeWalt & DeWalt (2011)<ref name="DeWalt2">{{cite book|last=DeWalt, DeWalt|first=K.M, B.R.|title=Participant Observation|publisher=AltaMira Press|year=2011|location=Walnut Creek, CA|pages=47–61}}</ref><ref name="Howell" />{{rp|392–396}} call this form of rapport establishment as "talking the talk" and "walking the walk".  Also mentioned by Howell, DeWalt & DeWalt state that the researcher must strive to fit in with the population of study through moderation of language and participation.<ref name="DeWalt" /> This sets the stage for how well the researcher blends in with the field and the quality of observable events he or she experiences.
* '''Recording Observations and Data''': Along with [[field research|field notes]] and [[Interview (research)|interviews]], researchers are encouraged to record their personal thoughts and feelings about the subject of study through [[Reflexivity (social theory)|reflexivity journals]]. The researchers are prompted to think about how their experiences, ethnicity, race, gender, sex, sexual orientation, and other factors might influence their research, in this case what the researcher decides to record and observe.<ref name="Ambert">{{cite journal|last1=Ambert|first1=A.|last2=Adler|first2=P. A.|last3=Adler|first3=P.|last4=Detzner|first4=D. F.|year=1995|title=Understanding and evaluating qualitative research|journal=[[Journal of Marriage and the Family]]|volume=57 |issue=57|pages=879–93|doi=10.2307/353409 |jstor=353409 }}</ref> Researchers must be aware of these biases and enter the study with no misconceptions about not bringing in any subjectivities into the data collection process.<ref name="DeWalt" /><ref name="Ambert" /><ref>Richardson, L. 2000. ''"Writing: A Method of Inquiry." Handbook of Qualitative Research'' (2nd ed.), edited by N. Denzin & Y. Lincoln. Thousand Oaks: [[SAGE Publishing|Sage Publications]].</ref>
* '''Analyzing Data''':
** '''[[Thematic Analysis]]''': organizing data according to recurrent themes found in interviews or other types of qualitative data collection and
** [[narrative analysis|'''Narrative Analysis''']]: categorizing information gathered through interviews, finding common themes, and constructing a coherent story from data.