Zúčastněné pozorování a rozhovor v terénní praxi

Abstract

This article is primarily based on field re- search and interview, which are the main sources of data. I carried out this field research between 2009 and 2012 in the West Bank. This fieldwork was split into three stages (in 2009, 2010 and 2012). The method of participant observation and interviewing has a wide range of supporters as well as opponents among mem- bers of the scientific community. Participant observa- tion and interviewing as basic anthropological research methods are often criticized for the subjective and am- biguous “microcosmic” perspective from which the sur- veyed problems are approached. Nevertheless, these are still important methods of data collection used in an- thropology, and so the controversy about their use in practice is very important. Participant observation was the basic method that I applied in my field research. Since I spent a lot of time with my informants, I won their trust, which is necessary for the successful use of this method. I participated in routine communication between members of a household, but I could watch the little quarrels, debates, disputes, etc. Thanks to the method of participant observation, I was able to discover the inner world of the surveyed communities. Which obstacles are encountered in practice in my field research, and how can participant observation and in- terviewing be of use in practice? This is the fundamen- tal question I try to answer in this article.