Learning Journal 10

In class this past week we talked about participant observation. Participant observation plays a huge role in field studies because we are observing something pretty specific and want to draw as much as we can from it. From the reading we did for class about participant observation I was able to learn a few things. The author explained a story of how he was joining the military and it was his first day. He had no clue what to do or how to act properly. This was cool to me because it represented a world that was completely foreign to the one he was used to living in. I feel like when I am thrown into India, I will feel the same way. Not that I won't have learned or studied up about life over there, but the culture and normal way of living will be completely new to me. Just like the author had to watch when to salute officers and passing cars, I will need to learn to approach and communicate with people in a proper manner. Luckily if I do one thing wrong it won't spread around the whole military base, instead I can pick myself back up and move on to hopefully do better the next time around. There will be a lot of social norms for me to pick up on and a lot of social norms that I am used to doing that I need to avoid. The purpose of all of this is that for a while (if not my whole time) in India, I will be a participant observer.
My time over there will involve being different types of observation, from non-participation to complete participation, depending on the situation. While gathering data for my research project I will be an active participant. While learning how to get onto the bus and eating at a restaurant I will be a nonparticipant observer. All of what I do will involve observing, but the level of participation will vary. In order to prepare for observing so much it will be good to begin now. I have already started observing more nonverbal communication after doing the last assignment. I have been thinking about how I will record all of my thoughts and things the I observe. I will definitely need a jottings journal to take notes. It would also be nice to have a small voice recorder so that I could record the answers that are given to me or even stop in the middle of the day and make some comments so I could refer to them later. The whole point of it though is to not forget what I observe, otherwise it has been a waste.
So what will make me a good active participant? Well I need to be able to communicate easily. I will need a translator or be able to understand the English that is communicated over there. I have heard that they use their own Indian English, so I will have to actively engage myself to be able to have a conversation in a way they are familiar with. I need to know clearly what I am observing. I need to observe the setting and surrounding of the people I am talking to so that I can draw other inferences. I will need to go out of my way to find people to talk to rather than waiting for them to come to me, like I might do if I were observing the use of a soda vending machine. These are just some things and I am sure there are many more.