PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION AS A RESEARCH METHOD IN GROUP HOMES FOR PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES

Background: The focus of this research is on occupations and interactions in group homes for people with intellectual disabilities in Austria. The doings and sayings of care-givers and care-receivers are analyzed with a... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
The focus of this research is on occupations and interactions in group homes for people with intellectual disabilities in Austria. The doings and sayings of care-givers and care-receivers are analyzed with a transactional approach. This approach wants to overcome the duality between person and environment. With this focus the meanings of occupations will be questioned. The experience of participant observation as a research method in this particular site will be reflected in this presentation.
Method:
Ethnography, including participant observation was conducted. The data collection was performed over a period of three years in three different group homes for people with intellectual disabilities in Austria.
Results:
Observing occupations and interactions over a longer period of time integrates the researcher in the research site and she or he becomes “native”. As a native person one gets more profound information and observations, but this also requires a more reflexive approach to research. It is important to reflect on the impact of one’s own occupational therapist identity in this specific site. There is also a risk of biased results due to the care-receivers and care-givers having divergent levels of skills, and talking and reflecting differently about meanings of occupations.
Conclusion:
There are strengths and challenges of participant observation as a research method in disability research.
Application to Practice:
Participant observation is not just a scientific research tool, but central for understanding occupations and a necessary aspect of occupational therapy.