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Designing for observation

Wästerfors, David LU (2022) 2. p.716-730
Abstract
Design can be tricky for qualitative researchers who want to use observations. In the academic world we are often asked to have linear ambitions: proposals, applications, personal websites and presentations. But good practice in ethnography means documenting social life as process, not as a box, and grasping people’s active “doing” of social life rather than rendering it reducible or machinelike. In this chapter I explore a set of accounting procedures for designing observational studies that I find accessible and productive for dealing with this and other dilemmas, and I also explore a kind of flexible preparedness that many projects most likely will benefit from. I try to clarify hands-on ways of managing the design task in this area, I... (More)
Design can be tricky for qualitative researchers who want to use observations. In the academic world we are often asked to have linear ambitions: proposals, applications, personal websites and presentations. But good practice in ethnography means documenting social life as process, not as a box, and grasping people’s active “doing” of social life rather than rendering it reducible or machinelike. In this chapter I explore a set of accounting procedures for designing observational studies that I find accessible and productive for dealing with this and other dilemmas, and I also explore a kind of flexible preparedness that many projects most likely will benefit from. I try to clarify hands-on ways of managing the design task in this area, I exemplify how to account for the method in advance and how to employ such accounts in practice, and I discuss how to set up a feasible project in terms of getting close to phenomena and sustaining field relations. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Design
editor
Flick, Uwe
volume
2
pages
14 pages
publisher
SAGE Publications
ISBN
978-1-5264-8432-1
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
ea1606cf-040c-492b-b166-661cbb3ed5f9
date added to LUP
2022-04-06 10:09:14
date last changed
2025-04-04 14:46:35
@inbook{ea1606cf-040c-492b-b166-661cbb3ed5f9,
  abstract     = {{Design can be tricky for qualitative researchers who want to use observations. In the academic world we are often asked to have linear ambitions: proposals, applications, personal websites and presentations. But good practice in ethnography means documenting social life as process, not as a box, and grasping people’s active “doing” of social life rather than rendering it reducible or machinelike. In this chapter I explore a set of accounting procedures for designing observational studies that I find accessible and productive for dealing with this and other dilemmas, and I also explore a kind of flexible preparedness that many projects most likely will benefit from. I try to clarify hands-on ways of managing the design task in this area, I exemplify how to account for the method in advance and how to employ such accounts in practice, and I discuss how to set up a feasible project in terms of getting close to phenomena and sustaining field relations.}},
  author       = {{Wästerfors, David}},
  booktitle    = {{The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Design}},
  editor       = {{Flick, Uwe}},
  isbn         = {{978-1-5264-8432-1}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{716--730}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  title        = {{Designing for observation}},
  volume       = {{2}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}