RLO: Participant and non-participant observation - making the right choice

'Real-life' examples

In a team activity, such as a football match, the distinction between 'participant observer' and 'non-participant observer' may seem clear-cut, but is it?

The players are certainly participants, and for much of the time they must observe the actions of the other players in order to act effectively themselves. Those observers watching the game on the television are clearly not participating in the game. But what about the referee? On the one hand, the referee is not a 'participant' in either of the teams. But the referee's actions are crucial to the activities of all the players, and the actions of this particular observer may well have the biggest impact on the game of any single individual.

And how should the crowd be defined? they are not on the pitch, not playing in either team. But many fans would argue that without them a football match would be very different; that they do have an influence on what happens on the pitch and therefore are participant observers to some extent.

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