Participant Observation of Alcoholics Anonymous: Contrasting Roles of the Ethnographer and Ethnomethodologist

This paper is an attempt to explore the possible research stances available to the researcher involved in participant observation of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) . It examines some ethnographic studies of AA, within both naturalistic and symbolic interaction is m research paradigms. However , mindful of the constitutive nature of language in social interaction and also wishing to focus on AA as a discoursal process, ethnomethodological approaches are examined, particularly the insights available through Conversational Analysis (CA) and Institutional Interaction. The methods of scrutiny available through these approaches the emphasis on data and fine-grained detail as well as the context sensitivity available to the acculturated observer it is argued, make the ethnomethodological approach eminently appropriate in terms of exploring the reflexive relationship between AA discourse and its social organization.