Observation technique:
Observation is the process of gathering information through direct experience with the help of the senses.
The learner sees and examines events through his own intellect.
Incident information check in the context of functioning is called observation.
Observation is the process of obtaining information with the help of the senses for the purpose of research.
According to Pauline Young, "observation is the process of getting information about an object, person or situation."
This means that only when the situation or event that is to be studied is happening, seeing the event through the senses at the scene and getting information about it is called observation.
There are mainly two types of observation which can be described as follows.
$(1)$ participatory inspection, $(2)$ Non-participant inspection
$(1)$ Participant observation:
Participatory observation is when the observer himself observes the group life under his study.
This technique is used in the world of anthropology.
It is also accepted in sociology.
The term Participant Observation was first used by Sidman in $1924$ in his book Social Discovery.
Anthropologist Malinowski, a member of the tribal community, performed this participatory observation experiment.
He has been called the pioneer of participatory observation methods.
In participatory observation the observer has to observe the actual activity of other persons in that group by becoming a member of the group by participating in the study group by hiding his / her identity.
The observer observes the natural behavior of the other members of the group as a member of the group and obtains in-depth information about them.
Detailed information can be obtained and its veracity can also be verified and make the research reliable.
E.g. Malinowski’s study of the tribes of the Tribend Islands of Australia.
$(2)$ Non-participant inspection:
The research in which the researcher observes to obtain information regarding the research-question by keeping himself aloof from the group under study is called non-participatory observation.
When a researcher observes as a spectator while inactive in a group under study, it is called non-participatory observation.
The learner does not become a partner in group activities.
But he observes the activities in detail and in depth.
In non-participatory observation the researcher observes as an outsider.
Non-participatory observation can be used in the study of many situations such as factories, strikes, religious festivals or rituals, the relationship between students and teachers in school, etc.
The above types are derived based on the role of the observer.
It is difficult to observe full participation or complete non-participation in the instrumentation.
In participatory observation, the learner observes the instinctive behavior of the people.
But in this practice, the learner has to play a double role.
Being a member of one group and having a dual role as another student, a scientific study is considered to be done only if a balance is maintained between them.
Thus, in the field of research, advanced participatory observation technique has been developed as a combination of participatory and non-participatory observation.
Which eliminates the shortcomings inherent in both of the above observations.