Participant Observation: A Methodological Approach to the Study of Halfway Houses for Alcoholics

Summary Participant observation has played an ‘under dog’ role as the methodology of choice in the social sciences in general and social policy evaluation in particular. Part of this reluctance by social science researchers to use participant observation has stemmed from what they see as a lack of clarity and precision practitioners of participant observation have had in defining exactly what it is participant observation does and how it may practically be applied in the field. Thus the value of participant observation has been questioned due to its lack of definitive structure. This paper is an account of how participant observation works, what can be expected from it, and how it is different from other more orthodox methodologies. Participant observation is now being used by the Evaluation Studies Department of the Addiction Research Foundation as one of the methods of inquiry into the nature and structure of recovery homes for alcoholics. The account presented here, uses the application of participant observation in the evaluation of halfway houses as a means of illustrating how participant observation operates in the field.