Morris S. Schwartz

Problems in Participant Observation

Participant observation is a process of registering, interpreting, and recording. The process and the kinds of data are influenced by continuing observed-observer transactions. The role of the observer may be passive or active. In either case effective involvement with the observed develops inevitably and may range from sympathetic identification to projective distortion. The form it takes is a function primarily of the observers experience, awareness, and personality. Anxiety and bias are sources of distortion, and their adequate handling is a major problem in refining the human instrument for gathering data.

CONSIDERATIONS IN DETERMINING A MODEL FOR THE MENTAL HOSPITAL

In this paper, we have discussed what we consider to be a basic problem in the field of inpatient care: the relative lack of exploration and analysis of the considerations basic to developing a model for an inpatient facility. We have suggested 3 considerations that we feel are important in such analysis : the feasible and the desirable institution, the theoretical orientation toward mental illness and its treatment, and the purposes and interests practitioners would like the facility to pursue. It is our conviction that if practitioners explore the implications of this kind of analysis, they may be able to formulate more adequate models for inpatient facilities and thus achieve their central objective of contributing more effectively to patient welfare.