ABSTRACT
Before embarking on the planning stages of your observation you will find it helpful to be reasonably confident of two things: the focus of your study, i.e. the topic of your research, what it is you wish to explore and learn more about; and the research questions you intend to address. Of course, both your research focus and your research questions may change over the course of your inquiries in light of your experiences. Although they may well be provisional in the beginning they are still vital. Without them you will struggle to provide some initial shape and structure to your research. It is only when you are reasonably sure of the purpose of your study and of the questions to which you seek answers that you will be able to begin thinking about the array of issues associated with observational research. These include what you will observe, how to gain access and how you will observe it, how you will conduct yourself, how you will record what you see, what additional information you will collect, and how you will process and analyse your data. We hope that by addressing each element of the observation process in a clear and structured way we will help you to feel confident enough to try observation for yourself in your own research projects.
