The authors report on a research experiment involving the admission of one of them as a pseudo-patient in a rural Ghanaian hospital. The experiment was meant to assess the feasibility of carrying out unobtrusive participant observation in a hospital setting. Practical, methodological and ethical implications are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to analyze selected Wolaita proverbs for their reflection of prejudiced negative images of femininity. The subjects used for the current study were 20 theme-relevant proverbs collected by interviewing systematically selected 12 elders and conducting participant-based observation. The qualitative research design was used to conduct this study. The result indicated t...

This essay examines cultural and structural patterns of information use in a virtual meeting. An information landscape model provided an abductive approach for guiding ethnographic data collection acquired through participant observation. A political frame of information use was applied to analyze field data. The themes that emerged from the ethnographic componential analysis were governance an...

This study examined naturally-occurring university classroom interactions at Iranian universities and provided an analysis of silence patterns as politeness strategies used by male and female students. Since empirical studies of silence in classroom settings are scarce, this paper aimed to explain such phenomena using participant interviews, classroom observation and detailed discourse analysis...

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the benefits generated from the application of lean tools in banking services. We will highlight on challenges, advantages, and principal success factors for lean implementation. As financial markets are experiencing changes so it’s mandatory to create a streamlined bank to meet the new expectations in a timely manner while continuing to lower operational...

BACKGROUND Managing patients' requests for appointments is an important general practice activity. No previous research has systematically observed how patients and receptionists negotiate appointments. AIM To observe appointment making and investigate patients' and professionals' experiences of appointment negotiations. DESIGN OF STUDY A qualitative study using participant observation. S...

This study investigated nurses’ use of facilitating and blocking communication behaviours in cancer care and the associated personal and professional factors. Using cross-sectional quantitative descriptive design and researchers-developed observation guide and questionnaire, data were collected by non-participant observation of 47 nurses working as permanent staff in eight wards admitting predo...

This article argues that participant observation is more than mere method and in need of greater theoretical attention. This is particularly true for its more participative forms, which are inseparable from assumptions about the role of the body in the generation of knowledge. Drawing on fieldwork experience, parallels are noted between participative observation and the clinical practice of nur...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on a three year research project exploring the impacts of an intervention seeking to reduce social isolation in older people. Design/methodology/approach – This study used qualitative research methods and a participative approach to facilitate the generation of the research objectives and process. Participant observation and individual/focus grou...