Pilot Observation

I was unsure at first how to approach the task of the pilot observation. My inquiry is about the creative and lifestyle implications of being a polymath, and there did not seem an immediately obvious 'event' to observe. For example, sitting and watching someone write, or paint, would probably not provide me with any information that relevant to my inquiry.

I decided to attend a rehearsal of a friend, who is currently both acting in and producing a play. I had to be very aware that I was sitting in on what is usually a very closed and private process, so I did not want to do anything distracting, such as videotaping or recording. I introduced myself at the beginning of the session, and explained the purpose of my presence, to put the company at ease, and positioned myself in a spot where I would be out of the actor's eye-line so as not to distract. At the beginning of the session, I made a few notes, but quickly realised this was a mistake, as I was horribly aware of the scratching of my pencil; the actors were beginning to nervously glance over as though I were critiquing their performance. This was a good lesson to learn, and I decided instead to reflect on and analyse the session afterwards.

In other circumstances, I would certainly have planned my observation more thoroughly, and used quantitative methods, such as counting the amount of times certain things happened etc. However, I felt a more open process would be more appropriate. My aim was to neutrally observe, and look out for any signs of how my friend's dual roles as actor and producer influenced the rehearsal. I suppose you could say that my focus was clear, but my data collection method was consciously unstructured, as I did not know what to expect.

I remained with the company for the whole afternoon, and although it was an interesting rehearsal, I found myself with little to report on the subject of polymathy. However, there were 2 instances when my friend had to excuse herself to speak on her phone regarding production issues. This, I interpreted as a clear sign of her 'polymathy' having a negative impact, and I sensed through their body language, the disapproval and frustration of the other actors. Reflecting on this later, I realised I could not have accessed this information through any other tool than observation (when interviewed, she may not have mentioned the incident, and would also not have been aware of her colleagues reaction when she left the room). In this respect, I could see the clear benefits of observation as a reliable tool....'actions speak louder than words' perhaps?

This led me to the conclusion that I should definitely try to include some observation in my research design, but I would have to think very carefully about exactly how. It would be very time-consuming to sit in rehearsals all day, with no guarantee of collecting much useful data. I began to think about the more long term participant observation approach; the pilot observation reminded me of lots of other conversations and rehearsals, which have revolved around a practitioner's difficulty to 'juggle' and do more than one thing. In fact, these conversations crop up almost daily in my professional network.

I think the most useful form of observation for me, will be a constant process of noticing, recording and analysing these events in my daily practice. I envisage that keeping a journal for this specific purpose will be the best way to record my findings; this will also help me to maintain reliability of data, as I will be recording my observations as I go, rather than attempting to remember things at a much later date. I recognise that my 'insider knowledge' gives me a distinctive position as a researcher (Costley et al. 2010) and I see this as a positive thing; I am able to interprete information as someone who has experience of the industry I am researching. However, I am equally aware that I must acknowledge my position as an insider, and try to maintain objectivity as much as possible.

References


Costley, Carol, Wlliot, Geoffrey Gibbs, Paul (2010) Doing Work Based Research: Approaches to Enquiry for Insider-Researcher, London: Sage Publications Ltd.