Whose Interpretation Matters? Centering Participants Through Observation Debrief

Sam Prough

doi:10.29333/ajqr/12440

Sam Prough ¹ ^*

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AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 6, Issue 3, pp. 60-73

https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12440

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Abstract

While observation research strives to capture the diverse experiences of participants, a researcher’s interpretation is often foregrounded in the work. As a result, those observed and how they interpret the meaning of their actions can fade into the background. I argue for a shift in traditional models of observation to include an observation debrief to unite the purpose of interview and observation while centering the participant’s perspective through a more immediate reflection of a participant’s observed experience. I describe the benefit of an observation debrief through a narrative account of one participant in a study about parents’ mathematical interactions with young children.

Keywords: debrief, mathematics education, narrative, observation, parent engagement.

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Citation

Prough, S. (2022). Whose Interpretation Matters? Centering Participants Through Observation Debrief. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 6(3), 60-73. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12440

Prough, S. (2022). Whose Interpretation Matters? Centering Participants Through Observation Debrief. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 6(3), pp. 60-73. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12440

Prough S. Whose Interpretation Matters? Centering Participants Through Observation Debrief. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2022;6(3), 60-73. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12440

Prough, Sam. "Whose Interpretation Matters? Centering Participants Through Observation Debrief". American Journal of Qualitative Research 2022 6 no. 3 (2022): 60-73. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12440

Prough, Sam "Whose Interpretation Matters? Centering Participants Through Observation Debrief". American Journal of Qualitative Research, vol. 6, no. 3, 2022, pp. 60-73. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12440

Prough S. Whose Interpretation Matters? Centering Participants Through Observation Debrief. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2022;6(3):60-73. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/12440