ABSTRACT
This chapter will explore what we mean by participant observation; defining different types or levels of observation that researchers and, in particular, ethnographers engage in. It will draw on two case studies of participant observation: the first an overt study of organizational change in the British Civil Service and the second a covert study of a Christian fundamentalist group in Midwest America. This chapter concludes that each site brings with it its own practical and ethical dilemmas; dilemmas that are often difficult to anticipate in the design and planning stage.
