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AcademicWriting

ObservationPapers

Writingaqualitativeobservationpaperentailsthreeprocesses.First,yourecordyourobservationsof

aparticularsettingorsituation‐‐thatis,takefieldnotes.Next,youinterpretthosenotesaccordingto

relevantcriteria.Finally,youwriteawellorganizedpaperthatpresentsyourobservationsand

interpretations,usuallywiththeaimofansweringaresearchquestion.

GENERALTIPSFORTAKINGFIELDNOTES

Entries:Begintheobservationperiodbyenteringthedate,locality,time,generalweatherconditions,and

anythingelsethatmaybeimportant.

Dates:Agoodmethodistousea3‐letterdesignationforthemonthandalwaysputthetimeunitsfrom

smallesttolargest:daymonthyear(e.g.10JAN89).

Times:Alwaysusethe24‐hourclock.i.e.0530ratherthan5:30sincethelatterisambiguousifAMorPM

doesnotfollow.Itisagoodideatomakeyourlastentry'Observ ationsendedat(andinserttime)'.

Notes:Writedownwhatyousee,notyourinterpretationofit.Avoidgeneraldescriptions:'themen

fought'shouldbe'manA(blackhairwithyellowT‐shirt)punchedmanB(yellowhairwithblackT‐shirt)

withhisleftarm.’Takequantitativenoteswhenpossible.Itisbettertowrite'thewomenwere1mapart'

thantowritenothingaboutdistance betweenthem.

Notesshouldbedescriptiveandtellwhatyoudidnotseeaswellaswhatyoudid.Youmayhavebeen

watchingaparticularactionanddidnotnoticesomethingaboutthepeopleinvolved.Notewhatyoudidnot

notice.

(AdaptedfromFieldNotebooks&RecommendationsforTakingFieldNotes)

RECORDINGQUALITATIVEOBSERVATIONS 

Setting:Bespecificaboutdate,time,conditions,andphysicalarrangements.Don’tsay“It’shardtoseeinthe

club”;rather,“Theclubis litbyabouthalfadozendimredbulbs,makingitimpossibletoseethefarsideofthe

roomclearly.”

Time‐keeping:Recordthetimeyoubeginandendyourobservations.

People:Ifthesettingis crowded,chooseaparticulargroup(orgroups)orfocusonrandomparticipants.

Describeactionsandreactionsaspreciselyandliterallyaspossiblewithoutmixinginyourowninterpretation. 

Interpretation:Yourgoalisn’tjusttorecordobservationsinapublicspacebutalsotointerpretthemwith

respecttocommunicationpatternsand processes.However,youneedtodifferentiatebetweenyour“literal”

descriptionofactions/behavioursandyourinterpretationofthem—i.e.firstdescribe,then interpret.

Dialogue:Ifthesettingismoreintimate,youmaybeabletocapturesomekeydialogue.Dosoonlyifyoucan

hearitclearly,it’ssimpleormemorable,andyoudon’thavetoguesswhatwassaid.Don’ttrytowrite

everythingyouhearverbatim.Ifyoucan’thearsomethingproperly,don’ttrytoguesswhatwassaid.

WRITINGYOUROBSERVATIONPAPER

Organizeyourpaperaroundaresearchquestion:Forexample,youmaybeinterestedinpower

relations,interactionsbetweeninterpersonalcommunicationprocessesandothermedia,orother

socialphenomena...oryourassignmentmaysteeryoutowardparticularthemes.Agoodstrategyisto

createaresearchquestionaroundoneofyourinterestsorassignmentthemes.Thequestionwillnot

onlyguideyourobservationsbuthelpyoutointerpretandorganizethemforyourpaper.

Structureyourpaperclearly:

1. Theintroductionincludesanoverviewofthepublicspaceyouobservedandposestheresearchquestion.

2. Thebodyusesparagraphdivisionstosignallogicalshiftsintime,place,behaviours,orattentiontodifferentaspects

ofyourresearchquestion.Ensurethatonecentralconceptor“thread”governseachparagraph,anddon’tendwith

asentencethatbelongstothenextparagraph.Informativeheadingsandsub‐headingscanalsohelpcuethereader.

3. Theconclusionshouldcomebacktotheresearchquestion.Didyourobservationsanswerit?Whyorwhynot?

Thengoastepfurtherandsuggestasenseofsignificance:i.e.whatwelearnaboutcommunicationprocessesor

aboutpeople’sinteractionswith(in)publicspaces.

Writeself‐reflectively:Youarepartofthescene; indeed,yourpresencemayevenaffectthescenetosome

extent.That,plusthefactyoumustalsorecordandtosomeextentreflectonyourownobservationprocess,

meansusingthefirstperson.However,there’sadif ferencebetweenusingitredundantly,asin—“Iobserved

fouryoungwomenatonetablealllaughingtogether”—andasanintegralpartofyourprocess/experience,as

in—“Ifeltuncomfortablestandingsoclosetothemenatthebar.”

Adoptaclear,“plain”style:

o Keepnounsandverbsclosetogether—“who’sdoingwhat?”

o Watchyouruseoftheall‐purposelinkingverb“tobe.”Wouldaconcreteverbpaintamoreaccuratepicture?

o Usetheactivevoicewhenpossibleandappropriate—forex,“Iheardasuddenburstoflaughter”ratherthan“A

suddenburstoflaughterwasheard.”

o Beconsistentwithverbtense.Theobservationsyouincludeinyourpapermayusethepresentorpasttenseas

longasit’sthesamethroughout.However,yourinterpretations—andforthatmatteranykindofcritical

analysis—shouldbeinthepresenttense.

AlwayscheckwithyourprofessororTAforotherspecific assignmentrequirements.