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The Good Enough Guide
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The Good Enough Guide
Tool 9: How to observe
In some situations, informal observation may be all you can do and ‘good enough’ when making an assessment or tracking changes.
‘I look to see if people are moving into houses. I ask if they feel safe. Are they smiling? Are they happy? I look to see if children are going back to school.’ (John Watt)
Observing people: some tips and possible problems
Tips |
Possible problems |
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Explain why you want to observe people at the site, and how the information you collect will be used. Request permission from the people living there. Invite people living there to observe the site with you. Give observers brief training and support. Agree the information you want to collect through observation. Afterwards, compare notes and pool observations as soon as you can. Record your findings in writing and use them. |
Observing people may affect their normal behaviour and routines. If an observer knows the people being observed well, this may make it hard for him/her to be unbiased. Involving many observers can result in many different opinions and interpretations. Findings that are not recorded immediately will be less reliable. |
From Partners in Evaluation: Evaluating Development and Community Programmes with Participants, © Marie-Thérèse Feuerstein 1986. Reproduced by permission of Macmillan Publishers Ltd
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