- Activity 1: Being a Complete Observer in a Public Setting (1 ½ hrs
plus time for participants to travel to/from the observation site.)
Working in pairs and individually, participants get first-hand
experience gathering data through observation.
- Activity 2: Rich Data (40 min) small and whole group activity to
help participants understand the idea of a rich description and its
importance in collecting qualitative data.
Activity 1: Being a Complete Observer in a
Public Setting*
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Purpose: |
Participants get firsthand experience using
observation as a means of collecting data.
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|
Time: |
1 ½ hrs plus time for participants to travel to/from the
observation site.
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Materials: |
Observation Assignment handout
Easel, markers, and flip chart paper
Researcher logs or journals
Any public setting for the observation to occur -- a restaurant,
a well populated street corner, the public library, a grocery
store, the mall, etc. There should be natural public access to
the setting and multiple viewing opportunities for participants. |
Process
Frame the activity for the group: This activity gives each
participant the opportunity to find out how much they can learn, hear,
and see through observation. Explain that observations are usually
recorded with field notes during or very soon after an event being
recorded has occurred. Field notes should be focused and shaped by the
research topic. For example, if the research was about students' views
of themselves as writers, an observer might take notes on the comments
students made about writing during class discussions or conferences.
Now identify a question for participants to focus their
observations and note taking. In the 1999-2000 Virginia Research
Network, for example, the question that framed this activity was: How
are status and hierarchies manifested in the situation observed? View
the sample observation notes on this website. Consider doing a
friendly critique of these sample field notes before participants
depart to carry out their own observations. This will give them a
model and may be helpful when they share their notes and respond to
their partner's. (Add 30 min to critique the field notes.)
Review the directions for the Observation Assignment with
participants. Divide the group in to pairs. Participants should go
to the observation setting with a partner but will not collaborate in
any way until they have completed recording their observations. Then
they will share their notes and compare and contrast their views of
the same setting. Suggest that partners can also respond to each
other's notes with questions like:
- What could be clearer or more descriptive?
- What would you like to know more about?
This portion of the activity can occur while partners are together at
the site for observation, or once they have returned to the whole
group setting.
Reconvene the group to debrief the activity. Us these questions to
facilitate a discussion about the participants' experiences and the
lessons they learned:
- How do participants feel about what happened?
- Were there any surprises?
- What did they learn about collecting data through observation?
- What are the implications for their own research situations?
Respond to participants' questions and comments about using
observation to collect information and to learn more about a
particular subject.
__________________________________________________________________
*Adapted from: Drennon, C.E. (1998) Practitioner Inquiry for Staff
Development and Program Improvement: A Facilitation Guide for Local
Adult Literacy Programs, Department of Adult Education, University of
Georgia. Further credit goes to Janesick, Valerie J. (1998) Stretching
Exercises for Qualitative Researchers, Thousand Oaks, California: Sage
Publications.
Top of page
Activity 2: Rich Data: Learning How To Write
Descriptively*
|
Purpose: |
This activity is designed to help
participants understand the idea of a rich description and its
importance in qualitative data collection.
|
|
Time: |
40 min
|
|
Materials: |
A kiwi, paper plate, knife, and napkins |
Process:
Explain to participants that a skillful observer will produce rich
data. "Rich data" refers to data that describes comprehensively the
person, event, object, or situation that a researcher is
investigating. Here's how the authors Bogdan and Biklen describe the
importance of rich data:
"Rich data or rich field notes are phrases used by
experienced fieldworkers to refer to field notes that are well endowed
with good description and dialogue relevant to what occurs at the
setting and its meaning for participants. Rich data are filled with
pieces of evidence, with clues that you begin to put together to make
analytical sense out of what you study."
Divide participants into small groups (five to six per
group). Give each group has a kiwi fruit, a paper plate, a knife, and
napkins.
The group's task is to describe the kiwi as fully as possible. Do this
by rounds in which person makes a descriptive statement about the
kiwi. For example, if a small group of three people were describing a
pineapple, it might go like this:
Person A: "The outside is spiky."
Person B: "The fruit has green leaves."
Person C: "The green leaves are coming out of the top of the fruit."
Each person takes a turn making a descriptive statement about the
fruit. Try to take at least 10 turns each. Someone in each group keeps
track of the number of turns each person takes.
Try to avoid making evaluative statements about the kiwi. For example,
"The kiwi is ugly" is an evaluative statement. Listen closely to each
other and try to help each other understand the difference between
descriptive and evaluative comments.
Discuss the activity in the large group and extract lessons learned.
________________________________________________________________________
*The Inquiry Facilitators Handbook Pennsylvania Adult Literacy
Practitioner Inquiry Network (1998). Further credit goes to Bogdan and
Biklen (1992). Qualitative Research for Education, 2nd Ed. Needham
Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
End of session
Session 9: Designing a Whole Research
Project
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