Participant observation is one type of
data collection method typically done in the
qualitative research paradigm. It is a widely used methodology in many disciplines, particularly
cultural anthropology and (European)
ethnology, less so in
sociology,
communication studies,
human geography and
social psychology. Its aim is to gain a close and intimate familiarity with a given group of individuals (such as a religious, occupational, sub cultural group, or a particular community) and their practices through an intensive involvement with people in their cultural environment, usually over an extended period of time. The method originated in the
field research of social anthropologists, especially
Bronislaw Malinowski in Britain, the students of
Franz Boas in the United States, and in the later urban research of the
Chicago School of sociology.