Participant Observation (cont’d)
• Many classic participant observations studies
• E.g., Asylums (Erving Goffman), Tally’s Corner (Elliot Liebow),
Street Corner Society (William F. Whyte), etc.
• Today most ethnographers take an overt role
• I.e., their identity as a researcher is known to the people being
studied
• Covert participation (i.e., identity concealed from
participants) is fraught with ethical issues – e.g.,
Humphrey’s “Tearoom Trade”