Slide 9.

Chapter 9
Collecting primary data through observation

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.2

Observation as a data collection

method

'Observation involves the systematic

observation , recording, description
analysis and interpretation of people's
behaviour'

Saunders et al. (2009)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.3

Types of observation

The two main types

• Participant observation – emphasises the discovery

of meaning attached to actions (qualitative)

• Structured observation – is concerned with

frequency of actions
(quantitative)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.4

Participant observation (1)

Definition

'Where the researcher attempts to participate

fully in the lives and actions of subjects,
enabling them to not merely observe what is
happening but also feeling it'

Adapted from Gill and Johnson (2002)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.5
Situations in which participant observation has been
used
One of the most famous examples of participant
observation is that of Whyte (1955), who lived among a
poor American-Italian community in order to understand
'street corner society'. A celebrated business example is the
work of Roy (1952). Roy worked in a machine shop for 10
months as an employee. He wanted to understand how and
why his fellow workers' operated the piecework bonus
system. Rather more colourfully, Rosen (1991) worked as
a participant observer in a Philadelphia advertising agency.
Rosen was working within the theoretical domain of
dramaturgy. He wanted to understand how organisations
used social drama to create and sustain power relationships
and social structures.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.6

Participant observation: researcher roles

Gill and Johnson (2002) develop a fourfold

categorization (Figure 9.1) of the role the
participant observer can adopt. The roles
are:
1.complete participant;
2.complete observer;
3.observer as participant;
4.participant as observer.
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.7

Complete participant
The complete participant role sees you as
the researcher attempting to become a
member of the group in which you are
performing research. You do not reveal
your true purpose to the group members.
You may be able to justify this role on pure
research grounds in the light of your
research questions and objectives.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.8

Complete observer
• Here too you would not reveal the purpose
of your activity to those you were
observing. However, unlike the complete
participant role, you do not take part in the
activities of the group. For example, the
complete observer role may be used in
studying consumer behaviour in
supermarkets.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.9

Observer as participant
• You might adopt the role of observer as participant in an
outward-bound course to assist team building if you
were attending to observe without taking part in the
activities in the same way as the 'real' candidates. In other
words, you would be a 'spectator'. However, your identity
as a researcher would be clear to all concerned. They
would know your purpose, as would the trainers running
the course. This would present the advantage of you being
able to focus on your researcher role.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.10

Participant as observer
• In the role of participant as observer you reveal your purpose as a
researcher. Both you and the subjects are aware of the fact that it is a
fieldwork relationship (Ackroyd and Hughes 1992). You are
particularly interested to gain the trust of the group. This was the role
adopted by the sociologist Punch (1993) in his study of police work in
Amsterdam. Because of the trust developed by Punch with police
officers whom he was researching he was able to gain admission to
activities that otherwise would have been 'out of bounds' to him.
Because his identity as researcher was clear he could ask questions of
his subjects to enhance his understanding.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.11

Choice of participant observer role

Determining factors

• Purpose of the research and time available

• Degree of suitability felt by the researcher

• Organisational access

• Ethical considerations

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.12

Participant observation: data collection

and analysis

Delbridge and Kirkpatrick (1994) categorise

the types of data generated by participant
observation as 'primary', 'secondary' and
'experiential'.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.13

Data collection and analysis (3)

• Threats to validity
• ecological validity
• Observer's bias

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.14

Advantages
• It is good at explaining “what is going on” in particular
social situation.
• It heightens the researcher's awareness of significant social
process.
• It is particularly useful for researchers working within their
own organization.
• Some participant observation affords the opportunity for
the researcher to the experience 'for real' the emotions of
those who are being researched.
• Virtually all data collected are useful.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.15

Disadvantages
• It can be very time consuming.
• It can pose difficult ethical dilemmas for the researchers.
• They can be high levels of role conflict for the researcher.
• The closeness of the researcher to the situation being observed can lead
to significant observer bias .
• The participant observer role is a very demanding one, to which not all
researchers will be suited
• Access to organizations may be difficult.
• Data recording is often very difficult for the researcher.

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.16

Structured observation (1)

• Structured observation is systematic and
aims to establish straightforward facts
• Structured observation is systematic and has
a high level of predetermined structure
• Its function is to tell you how often things
happen rather than why they happen
• Structured observation was an important part
of Mintzberg's (1973) study of managerial
work

Saunders et al. (2009)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.17

Structured observation (2)

Data collection and analysis

• Choosing an 'off the shelf' coding schedule

• Designing your own coding schedule

• Combining both types of schedule

• Use of simple (manual) or complex

(computer) methods of analysis
Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.18

Structured observation (3)

Threats to validity and reliability

• Subject error

• Time error

• Observer effects and strategies to overcome this –

habituation and minimal interaction Robson (2002)

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.19

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.20

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.21

Summary: Chapter 9

• Participant observation is used in a wide range of

social settings

• Participant observation means adopting a

number of potential roles

• Roles are differentiated according to the degree

of concealed identity and participation in events
adopted by the researcher

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009
Slide 9.22

Summary: Chapter 9

• The aim of participant observation is to develop

theory and avoid mere story telling

• Structured observation is concerned with the

frequency of events. It is characterised by high
levels of predetermined structure and quantitative
analysis

• The main threats to reliability and validity are

subject error, time error and observer effects

Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, Research Methods for Business Students, 5th Edition, © Mark Saunders, Philip Lewis and Adrian Thornhill 2009