Teaching Participant-Observation Research Methods: A Skills-Building Approach

In spite of long-standing interest among social scientists in participant-observation field methods there is little published material on how to teach these methods. In this paper the authors discuss a course they have offered at UCLA for the past six years. The course features experiential-learning, simulation of fieldwork, and both student and teacher reflexivity. These teaching strategies are meant to facilitate student learning in five essential skill domains felt to be applicable to most types of participant-observation field research. A detailed description of course content and learning activities is included.