China Social Science Review

No.1, 2024

The Limits and Possibilities of Participatory Observation: Taking Fieldwork Experiences in Thailand and the United States as an Example

(Abstract)

Gong Haoqun

“Limits and possibilities of participant observation” refers to the need for researchers to problematize the process of participant observation and to scrutinize the conditions, contexts, and possible ways of participant observation, rather than to consider participant observation to be a natural outcome of long-term fieldwork. The possibilities for participant observation and the breadth and depth of participation in local social life depend on a number of personal and social factors. At the same time, various constraints contribute to the researcher’s deep awareness of social and cultural differences and become an important part of “culture shock” and cross-cultural experience. It can be said that social and cultural boundaries simultaneously create the limits and possibilities of participant observation. Participant observation is a highly reflexive research method. The observation of participant observation should be accompanied by the whole research process, and it is of great value.