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The Active Participant-Observer: Applying Social Role Analysis to Participant Observation

Participant observation approaches have been important components of ethnographic research. Generally, however, observation has been emphasized over participation. But there are many ethnographic contexts in which active participation by the ethnographer is advantageous, if not essential, to the collection of quality data. This article provides a framework for analyzing the potential benefits of an ethnographer participating in an active role in a given ethnographic setting. Using theories from organizational studies and the organization of work, a framework for determining the attributes relevant to a given active role for the collection of ethnographic data is presented. Three case studies are analyzed using such a framework. They include an ethnographic study of a fish camp in Alaska; a study of the red-light district in Washington, D.C.; and a study of Chinese and Taiwanese immigrant communities in Southern California.