Participant observation at events: theory, practice and potential

By J. Mackellar. 2013

111 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review the techniques involved in participant observation and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the method as related to event research.Design/methodology/approach – A review of the literature examines applications of the research method and discusses the steps of the research cycle. Using the example of the Swell Sculpture Festival, participant observation is demonstrated to be a highly appropriate method to gather data on interactions and relationships through the recording of behaviour, conversation and experience in situ.Findings – Participant observation has been used to inform the development of management strategies, including management of crowd behavior, public risk and safety.Research limitations/implications – The paper suggests that methods of participant observation can be used to gain a deeper understanding of social dynamics of audiences and the affective dimensions of their behaviour. It is suggested that the method is highly appropriate to...

Subfields: Gender Studies, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/a203aec4111af6e182454ca6f2bf860d50abf81e