In the case of “ simple ” observation, the person remains outside the group, to describe it. 9ġ2 But what, specifically, are the different forms taken by observation, and what is the content of what we call “participant” observation?ġ3 There is a debate within the academic community, including in sociology and anthropology, on the forms to be taken by observation. In this debate, we will concentrate more specifically on one of the two: observation, and on one of the forms it may take in participant observation: that is, direct observation, or observation in situ, in the situation. 9 The expression “personal observation ” was originally used by Webb (Webb, Webb, 1932, 50), and it i (.)ġ1 Sociologists have two qualitative methodological tools at their disposal: observation and interviews.A Method for an Object – On the Choice of Participant Observation: Justification, Limits and Definition
The method then becomes the object of the study. Secondly, I will then explain the phases and tools involved in this original method. The method corresponds to the specificity of the object. Through an articulation between extant writings and the narrative of my seven-year experience in fieldwork, I will attempt to determine, firstly, the motivations and limits of the use of participant observation in a research framework.
#Participant observation sociology professional
The idea is to give a detailed account of the question underlined in a collective work by Poupart, Deslauriers, Groulx, Laperrière, Mayer and Pires (1997, 212-213), which is to say, the conditions under which research is done, as well as the practical problems encountered, focusing on three key points: i) my position and role as observer, my relation to the particular fieldwork context ii) the criteria governing the validity and accuracy of the study, ranging from the choice of the sites observed and of the target group sampled to the theoretical production and the generalization of the findings iii) ethical questions pertaining to the relations between professional people working in a particular sphere and scientific research. This thesis was based on sixteen different fieldwork experiences : the World Soccer Cu (.)ġ0 The narrative form will be employed here to describe a research project that began in 1998, 8 and has continued over the last year at the Centre International de Criminologie Comparée of the University of Montreal, in what may be described as a progression from learning to a degree of “mastery” of work in situ. The low visibility of the field of safety gradually led me to go from an interview and observation scheme (in which there was little to observe if I stayed in an outsider position) to a participant observation scheme.ħ However, although the latter scheme definitely facilitated access to data, it nonetheless brought into the forefront the idea that there was a risk of only seeing one viewpoint (that of the organizer) and therefore a need, at some point, to put the object at a distance so as to view it as an observer rather than as an actor.Ĩ This methodological scheme is similar to the one used by some sociologists from the Chicago school, with the limits, controversies and debates raised by this approach.ĩ The point here is to emphasize the specific contribution of the approach used, which resides in the variety of functions endorsed, which enabled us not only to define the safety problems as viewed by the actors, and the practical responses, but also, and above all, to relativize each experience. This concept of safety will be analyzed, with attention to the practices and techniques for ensuring safety, the roles of the various private actors (private security companies, organizers of shows) and public actors (the city, police, fire department, medical emergency services) and their interactions.Ħ In this article I will first explain the motivations behind participant observation. The concept of safety/security (henceforth designated as safety) is then understood through the demarcations set up by the actors when organizing sports and cultural events.
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