A note on the activities required for the participant observation: for MBA students

A note on the activities required for the participant observation: for MBA students (information from perplexity.ai)

My question 1: "As an MBA student doing dissertation project, I would like to employ participant observation to study "the shopping atmosphere of the shopping malls in Sheung Shui, Hong Kong". My question is, to be qualified as a participant observation, do I, the researcher, have to take a dinner in one of the restaurants in these shopping malls as well as do some purchases in the stores of the shopping malls?"

The reply: "To be qualified as participant observation in your study of the shopping atmosphere of the malls in Sheung Shui, Hong Kong, you do not necessarily have to take dinner in the restaurants or make purchases in the stores. Participant observation involves immersing yourself in a social setting and observing behaviors, interactions, and practices as an insider or participant-observer, with various levels of participation ranging from non-participatory to complete involvement. The key is to observe and sometimes participate in the activities relevant to your research aims, but full participation like eating or shopping is not a strict requirement unless it is essential to understanding the social dynamics you are studying.

Participant observation allows flexibility in participation. For example, you can be a moderate or active participant by engaging somewhat with the shopping environment and its users without necessarily making purchases or dining, so long as your presence allows you to observe the social atmosphere, behaviors, and interactions effectively. The goal is to gain rich, contextual insight from an insider perspective, not to perform all activities by default.​

Thus, for your dissertation, you may choose to enter restaurants or shops pragmatically if it helps you understand the environment better, but it is not a strict criterion for your research method to be considered participant observation. The method is primarily about observing and engaging with the setting in a way that facilitates deep understanding of the social atmosphere."

My question 2: "In this case, is it more appropriate to consider my research method as an unstructured observational research or semi-structured observational research?"

The reply: "For studying the shopping atmosphere in malls through participant observation without necessarily engaging in eating or purchasing, the choice between unstructured and semi-structured observational research depends on the level of focus and flexibility you want.

Unstructured observational research is more open-ended and exploratory, where you observe and record behaviors and interactions in a broad, flexible manner without predefined categories or protocols. It is appropriate if you want to capture a wide range of spontaneous interactions and the overall ambiance, allowing for discovery of unexpected patterns in the shopping atmosphere.

Semi-structured observational research involves some predetermined themes, categories, or aspects of the environment and behavior that you plan to focus on during observations, but still allows flexibility to note other relevant phenomena. This approach is suitable if you have certain specific research questions or aspects of the shopping atmosphere you want to explore in depth, while leaving room for additional insights.

Given your study aims to explore the "shopping atmosphere," which is a broad and somewhat subjective concept, semi-structured observation might be more appropriate if you can define key dimensions of atmosphere you want to observe (e.g., customer behavior, staff-customer interaction, ambience factors like music or lighting). If you plan to be broad and exploratory with no set focus areas, unstructured observation would be suitable.

In summary, both are valid, but semi-structured observational research is often better for balancing focus with flexibility, especially in a defined setting like shopping malls. Unstructured suits more exploratory, open-ended exploration without predetermined focus."

A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.