3.2 Participant observation

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In participant observation, the fieldworker becomes part of a community - an insider so to speak - and thereby gains access to people’s every-day lives and speech. It is a method that requires the use of on the spot transcription/recording. There are three major benefits to this approach:


  1. The amount of data that can be accumulated is huge.
  2. Due to gained familiarity, the researcher can hear and talk about subjects that would normally be considered taboo for an outsider to discuss.
  3. By becoming an active member of a community one can make sense of linguistic behavior.


Also, in addition to taking down what is being said, the fieldworker must be sure to note who is involved, where people are situated and who they are talking to in a conversation. The data can then be improved by follow up interviews. The drawbacks to this method are that it requires much energy as well as long-term and emotional involvement. In addition, examining only one community of some sort might be interesting, but does not put the retrieved results into a larger context which makes it difficult for the fieldworker to fully understand them. Therefore, follow-up research from similar communities is necessary (cf. Johnstone 2000: 80-102; Milroy 1987a: 60-64; Milroy 1987b: 34-35; Milroy and Gordon 2001: 68-72; Tagliamonte 2006: 20-22).








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