Participant Observation in Outdoor Recreation

Abstract

Increasing attention to problems in outdoor recreation requires the consideration of ways in which different research techniques can be applied to a recreational setting. This paper discusses the use of participant observation as a method both of gathering information and developing new research hypotheses in a recreational setting. Based on the experience gained in studying the depreciative behavior of recreationists in public campgrounds, problems of formulating the study design as well as overcoming the major methodological problems of role definition and data reliability are discussed. When such problems are given adequate consideration, participant observation is judged to be a useful tool for the study of a variety of problems in outdoor recreation.