1. Participant Observation- Taking Field Notes
Research Method Lab
Participant Observation- Taking Field Notes

2. Step One: Jottings

3. Jottings
Taking jottings is a strategy used by researchers to minimize the interruption of taking longer field notes while in the classroom
Think of jottings as impressions, using key words and phrases to capture the essence of what you are seeing
A word or two written down while something is happening is usually all you’ll need to jog your memory

4. Jottings
Every teacher/researcher will have his/her own style of jottings- you’ll find yours with practice
A good way to orient yourself to the note taking process is to practice with your classroom setting
Start by making a list of initial impressions- details like size, space, noise, colors, equipment, movement, people in the space, etc.

5. Jottings
While observing or taking jottings, be sure to only focus on “how” or “what” NOT “why”
Do not try to predict or guess the motivation of the people you are observing
If you only focus on your own judgments, you will interfere with your ability to capture critical information
The idea behind field notes is that collected over time, they begin to contain certain patterns and themes that you can analyze later on
You may end up not using every single jotting in a full-fledged note

6. Jottings Example #1 Jorge=at lunch Doesn’t make eye contact
Now only speaks Spanish
Example #2 (excerpt from a conversation)
Parents aren’t answering phone
Haven’t seen Mary for a week
Missing homework grades

7. Jottings
1. Jot down details of what you sense are key components of observed scenes or interactions
2. Avoid making statements characterizing what people do that rely on generalizations (like calling someone “inefficient”)

8. Jottings
3. Jot down concrete sensory details about actions and talk, details that show rather than tell about people’s behavior
4. Do not ignore emotions, but avoid the temptation to identify motives or internal states (anger can result from illness, sadness, frustration, a power struggle, etc.)
5. Jot down sensory details which you could easily forget but which you deem to be key observations about the scene

9. Jottings
6. You can also write down unimportant details as reminders (you won’t use these in your finished notes, but they can help you remember what happened
7. Jottings can be used to signal general impressions and feelings, even if you are unsure of their significance at the moment-place these on the margins of your paper

10. Step Two: Expand Notes

11. Expand Notes
Writing up your jottings into notes requires a block of concentrated time
An event that maybe took a few minutes to happen and jot can take longer to write up
The most ideal situation is when you can write expanded notes later that same day
One week is the maximum time to spend between jottings and write-up

12. Expand Notes
Stance includes how you identify with who you are observing—Teachers tend to write more fully about events they see as relevant
Stance also includes your intended or likely audience
Teachers can shift stance from personal observations to professional ones
Some notes can include one’s own reactions while other notes can be about how you adapted curriculum to meet a student’s needs

13. Expand Notes
Concentrate on remembering and getting words on the page, not on editing or revising
The writing at this stage is going to seem unpolished
When you go back and edit the first draft of your expanded notes, you can reflect on what happened- is there anything missing, is the note too judgmental or interpretive?

14. Expand Notes
Imagining an interested reader who wishes to know more encourages longer and more vividly detailed notes
The process of turning a jotting into a note involves what to include as much as what to leave out
In general, it doesn’t hurt to include more details-this way you’ll have more material to use when it comes to the editing and write-up stages
See handout for sample jottings turned into an expanded note

15. Expand Notes
First person- this is the “I” telling the story, from the perspective of the teacher/researcher
This is effective for the researcher who also works in the setting they are observing
See handout for sample first person note

16. Expand Notes
Third person is used for describing what others are doing and saying
You can also combine this point of view with the first person
The focused third person limits the descriptions to what those observed, saw, did, and said
Using a focused third person gives the reader a sense of only what the student saw

17. Expand Notes
Real Time Descriptions- the writer seeks to characterize events using only what is known at certain points as the event unfolds
Basically, you structure the note as if you are encountering the event for the first time
See handout for example

18. Expand Notes
End point descriptions- the writer makes full use of what they came to know when they witnessed the event
If a teacher describes the first day of class, then an end point perspective would list all of the students’ names, even if he/she wouldn’t know everyone’s names until later in the class meeting
This is basically the storytelling mode of writing

19. Step Three: Analysis

20. Analysis
At this stage, you will have collected many expanded field notes
Now it is time to do a systematic reexamination of what has been written and to identify themes
Rereading is recommended until you can no longer think of new ideas, themes, or issues
It also helps to read through your notes as if they were written by a stranger

21. Analysis
The coding process begins with the researcher mentally asking questions of specific pieces of the field note data
The secret of coding lies in turning answers to these questions into a word or short phrase that best captures an overall theme

22. Analysis Some helpful questions that lead to coding include:
What are people doing? What are they trying to accomplish?
How, exactly, do they do this? What specific means/strategies do they use?
How do members talk about, characterize, and understand what is going on? What assumptions are they making?
What do I see going on here? What did I learn from these notes? Why did I include them?

23. Analysis
These questions give priority to processes rather than causes or internal psychological motives
You want to ask questions that identify what is occurring and in what order, rather than “why” questions that ask about causes
These questions focus on practical concerns which means paying attention to patterns that emerge from the mundane rather than the dramatic

24. Analysis
Open coding- the idea is not to use pre-established categories, but to write down any category that comes to mind
You can always go back and limit the focus to just the categories you see repeating

25. Analysis
Memos- notes to one’s self that concern why you chose a particular theme or category- this can help you narrow down your codes
Themes- you want to select themes that can also relate to other apparent themes- this will make your write-up easier

26. Analysis
Focused coding- after you have done an open coding and identified potential themes, re-read your notes, using the new codes you have created, based on these themes
For example, you might have had 20 different codes for a field note, but only 5 relate to your research themes- these 5 codes would be the ones you use throughout the rest of your analysis

27. Step Four: Write-up

28. Write-up
Selecting field note excerpts is not a simple matter of finding the most interesting examples to use in your write-up
The themes you selected in the coding stage will help you to organize your write-up
You can then begin to isolate excerpts from your field notes that demonstrate examples of these themes

29. Write-up
The more detailed and vivid your field notes, the easier it will be to let them speak for themselves by using them as block quotes
An excerpt provides a starting place for collecting a body of excerpts bearing on a common theme

30. Write-up
Integrative strategy- weaves together interpretation and excerpt, typically written as a single paragraph
Field notes and ideas are then merged into a single, flowing text written as a single voice
The integrative strategy is well-suited for longer, continuous field notes
See handout for example

31. Write-up
Excerpt strategy- visually marks field notes excerpts off from accompanying commentary, usually by intending or italicizing
The excerpt style lets readers see for themselves the situation presented in the write-up
See handout for example
Note that the author begins with an analytic point, then orients the reader before setting up the situation for the excerpt, which follows
The author then ends with analytic commentary

32. Write-up
When writing an excerpt-commentary, the researcher must closely examine his/her strategies to check whether idea and description reinforce each other
Your job is to convince the reader that your interpretation is justified

33. Write-up Editing is the last necessary step of the field note process
When editing, the researcher has to consider length and relevance
Excerpts should not ramble on- if you must use a super-long excerpt, divide it into shorter paragraphs and intersperse with commentary
Keep in mind the importance of relevance- are your edited excerpts related to your themes and ultimately your research goals?
See handout for example of an edited note