This paper outlines the aims of the observation techniques workshop delivered on 11 June 2015, and discusses the experience of the group work sessions. Some participants explained their own experience of observation research, and participants discussed sampling, methods used to collect data and the ethics of observation research. The session participants concluded that observation research was a useful complementary technique for library research. More research published by library and information science practitioners and researchers would help to establish best practice in observation research

Urquhart, Christine

English

Journal of EAHIL

3:Journal of EAHIL 2015; Vol. 11 (3): 29-31 2015 Workshop ReportIntroductionWhen planning the session, I wanted to cover the“How, when, where, why, what” type of questions.At the end of the session I hoped that participantswould be able to explain some advantages anddisadvantages of observation methods, and definewhat is meant by unstructured versus structuredobservation, non-participant versus participantobservation. Observation can be a very obtrusiveresearch method, and the ethical aspects ofobservation research need attention.  I also wantedthe participants to be able to recognise and critiquesome of the methods such as the use of observationchecklists, and the use of photographs or videos. I was surprised when checking the recent researchliterature in library and information science howlittle research discussed observation as a major partof the research methodology.  One possible reasonfor the problem is that observation techniques oftencomplement other research methods used in aresearch study, and observation may be the minormethod used, and not fully indexed.  Anotherpossible reason is that the participant observationmethods of ethnographic research are usually onlyfeasible for doctoral student research as suchresearch can be very time-consuming. My ownexperience of research had taught me thatobservation was very useful.  Often I had not usedobservation formally, but I realised how much I hadlearnt about the research contexts through informalobservation of the surroundings, and notes takenabout the way the library was managed, and used.  Iwas therefore keen that the workshop participantsshould be inspired to use observation techniquesthemselves.  In addition to the workshop slidepresentation, all participants were supplied with alist of references, with author abstracts, onobservation techniques, so that they had somesources of advice for use in the future.Organisation of the workshopWe started with some videos on the problems ofselective attention from www.theinvisiblegorilla.com(1). Most of us have seen the YouTube clip of thegorilla walking around the basketball players,invisible to us when we are concentrating oncounting the ball passes, but very visible when weare advised that there is a gorilla there. There areother videos from the website that demonstrate theproblem of selective attention and that ourobservation may not be as good as we believe. Thisis a problem for observation research, but suchselective attention can also make other researchmethods such as interviewing less effective. We mayAbstractUijt!qbqfs!pvumjoft!uif!bjnt!pg!uif!pctfswbujpo!ufdiojrvft!xpsltipq!efmjwfsfe!po!22!Kvof!3126-!boe!ejtdvttft!uiffyqfsjfodf!pg!uif!hspvq!xpsl!tfttjpot/!Tpnf!qbsujdjqbout!fyqmbjofe!uifjs!pxo!fyqfsjfodf!pg!pctfswbujpo!sftfbsdi-!boeqbsujdjqbout!ejtdvttfe!tbnqmjoh-!nfuipet!vtfe!up!dpmmfdu!ebub!boe!uif!fuijdt!pg!pctfswbujpo!sftfbsdi/!Uif!tfttjpoqbsujdjqbout!dpodmvefe!uibu!pctfswbujpo!sftfbsdi!xbt!b!vtfgvm!dpnqmfnfoubsz!ufdiojrvf!gps!mjcsbsz!sftfbsdi/!Npsfsftfbsdi!qvcmjtife!cz!mjcsbsz!boe!jogpsnbujpo!tdjfodf!qsbdujujpofst!boe!sftfbsdifst!xpvme!ifmq!up!ftubcmjti!cftuqsbdujdf!jo!pctfswbujpo!sftfbsdi/Key words: observation; research design; research ethics; library surveys.Observation research techniquesChristine UrquhartDepartment of Information Studies, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth ,Wales, UK Beesftt!gps!dpssftqpoefodf;!Christine Urquhart, Department of Information Studies, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth,SY23 3AL, Wales, UK. E-mail: cju@aber.ac.uk41 Journal of EAHIL 2015; Vol. 11 (3): 29-31 Christine Urquhartbe focusing on the interview questions and forget tobe aware of how the interviewee is responding. Next came the definitions of structured orsystematic observation, where rules (often withchecklist) are used to observe behaviour.  In “simpleobservation” the observer just observes what ishappening, but in “contrived observation”, theobserver adjusts the situation and watches whathappens. Looking at people doing a searching taskset by the researcher is a type of contrivedobservation.  Non-participant observation meansthat the observer is “looking on”, and not playing anactive role.  In unstructured, ethnographicobservation research the researcher is open toobserving what really happens, and the researchersmay have some role in the situation – they areparticipant observers. The first group work task was to discuss how theparticipants would use observation techniques tostudy knowledge sharing among health professionalsfor discharge of patients with hip fracture or strokefrom hospital to the community.  What sort of“sampling” was necessary for observation? How,practically, could the research be managed?  Andwhat were some of the ethical issues?  Groupdiscussions highlighted the different health caredelivery structures in different countries, that wouldaffect the sampling, and when observation couldtake place. We agreed that observation would needto be accompanied by other research methods, anddiscussed the problems of doing research on, andwith, busy health professionals.  This task was basedon actual research conducted in the UK (2), inwhich observers studied patient/professionalinteractions, multidisciplinary team meetings, andwork shadowing of particular staff.  They were non-participant observers, but not silent. There areseveral dimensions to thinking about therelationship between the researcher and those beingobserved (similarity of work background/experience,or gender/race/religion, or extent of involvement inthe activities of the participants, or empathy withpolitical/social agendas) (3).  The second group task was to plan observationresearch for a library space problem of interest tothe group. At this point, it was clear that many of ushave done such research, although the work may beconsidered part of normal monitoring andevaluation (audit). An example from the libraryliterature is the research by Hursh on use of a musiclibrary (4).  The exploratory phase for this researchused library staff to make observations: “Observerswere asked to indicate the apparent gender,ethnicity, and age of each subject in the descriptionarea.  They were given the freedom to choose just afew patrons in an area to follow for the duration ofthe flip book if the number of people in that areawas so great that making accurate observations wasdifficult or impossible.  The absence of a checklistmeant participant observers had to be instructed to:1) not ignore some things they might normallyignore (i.e., remain open to the full range of possiblecharacteristics, behaviors, and activities), and 2)clearly and consistently record what they saw.”  We debated the pros and cons of using library staffto do the research, and how (or whether) to informlibrary users that research on library space use wasgoing on.  In the study of the music library, Hurshdevised an observation checklist with categoriesderived from the qualitative data analysis of theexploratory phase. This then allowed observers inthe second phase to record activity in five minute“sweeps” of particular zones, moving from one zoneto the next and then back to the first zone.  Wediscussed the practicalities of this method, notingthe need for clear, independent categories (asobservers had to make quick coding choices), andhow the quick exit interviews with library usersmight help gain additional information. The exitinterview also encourages library users to appreciatethat the library was working for better services forthem.  We were not too surprised that Hursh foundthat female patrons were much more likely tomultitask at their private laptops than male patrons!In the last part of the workshop we discussedresearch using visual methods. Such research ismuch older than “selfies”, although as a researchdata collection tool, phones, and digital recordersare now cheap and convenient.  It is easy to obtaina video diary. On the other hand, we still have to dothe data analysis, whether it is a video diary or awritten diary. We have to think about the ethicalissues as well, the cultural issues, and whether weare researching on the participants, or researching42Journal of EAHIL 2015; Vol. 11 (3): 29-31Observation research techniquesabout (and with) the participants.  Trust is veryimportant with any type of observation research (5),and vital when using visual data such as video.ConclusionsThe final messages of the workshop were:• observation research is useful, feasible forpractitioners, and can be combined with othertypes of data collection methods;• observation research can obtain uniquely reliableand valid answers to some library problems;• we have to think carefully about the ethicalaspects of data collection and analysis forobservation research.REFERENCES1. Chabris C, Simon D. The invisible gorilla. [cited03 August 2015] Available fromhttp://www.theinvisiblegorilla.com/videos.html. 2. Waring J et al. (for UK NIHR). An ethnographicstudy of knowledge sharing across theboundaries between care processes, services andorganisations: the contributions to “safe” hospitaldischarge.  Health Services and DeliveryResearch 09/2014; 2(29):1-160. DOI:10.3310/hsdr022903. Cunliffe AL, Karunanayake G. Working withinhyphen-spaces in ethnographic research:implications for research identities and practice.Organizational Research Methods.2013;16(3):364-92.4. Hursh, DW, Avenarius, CB. What do patronsreally do in music libraries? An ethnographicapproach to improving library services. MusicReference Services Quarterly. 2013;16(2):84-108. doi:10.1080/10588167.2013.7875225. Cooper J, Lewis R, Urquhart C. Usingparticipant or non-participant observation toexplain information behaviour. InformationResearch. 2004;9(4). http://informationr.net/ir/9-4/paper184.html

Observation research techniques

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Observation research techniques

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