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This chapter focuses on the ethnographic research approach that I employed in a service marketing study. The first part briefly describes ethnography’s key characteristics, that is, emergent research logic, prolonged fieldwork, and multiple modes of data collection, where the main method is observation. The second part discusses the data collection methods: participant observation, informal discussion, interview, and document analysis. This section describes in detail how these techniques were used in practice and highlights the key challenges I faced, especially related to the observations, and how I managed these challenges. The third part describes the case, field setting, informants, and field relationships. The development project that I studied concerned a bank’s website and project members from the bank and different consultant agencies represent the study’s informants. The fieldwork lasted for about one year and covered the entire development process from the initial stages to the launch, and some time after. The chapter ends with a thorough discussion about the research criteria of validity, reliability, and generality, and the coping tactics that I used in this study to enhance these. Prolonged fieldwork, multiple modes of data collection, reflexivity, and specification of the research are among those important tactics that this last section discusses in detail.

Classroom management is a prerequisite for effective instruction, yet research indicates that not all teachers implement evidence-based classroom management skills (CMS) in their classroom. Therefore, efficient professional development models are necessary to increase teachers’ use of CMS, but those models are predicated on valid and reliable screening tools to identify teachers CMS performance. This study is a psychometric evaluation of a direct observation CMS screening tool for elementary school teachers that can be used as part of a targeted CMS professional development model. Based on a three-facet generalizability study, the primary source of variance across observations was differences among teachers and differences across observations. A decision study was conducted and indicates that a generalizable estimate from the CMS screening tool requires four 30-min observations. These results are compared with prior research and recommendations for future research are discussed.

This chapter focusses on the complexity of observation, considering its role in lesson study, following a broader discussion of how observation is generally understood in teaching contexts. The authors argue that lesson study observation is formative and should not be performative in focus. In lesson study cycles, observation is a process conducted among peers ideally in a spirit of mutual support and collaborative inquiry, seeking to find answers to pedagogic challenges rather than measuring the effectiveness of individual teachers.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the advantages, challenges and uncertainties of collecting and analyzing data using participant observation in logistics research.

Experiences from a participant observation study of an interorganizational radio frequency identification (RFID) implementation in an international environment are presented and reflected on. The RFID implementation included complex interactions between three leading companies.

The results appear to support an increased use of participant observation in qualitative logistics research, particularly when investigating interorganizational aspects. The analysis highlights values, general limitations and challenges of using participant observation in logistics. The paper illustrates that using participant observation results in significant and detailed findings, which would be difficult to achieve with other methods. Suggestions on how to take advantage of the method's benefits and overcome methodological challenges are provided.

Future research may address experiences from other studies regarding how to analyze and report data from a participant observation study. It may also clarify the role the method is given in case studies and extend the analysis of epistemological aspects conducted in this paper.

This paper may inspire logistics researchers to consider participant observation, either as sole method or as part of a multi‐methodical case study, in order to make use of its benefits and thus broaden the dimensions of logistics research.

A broad literature review indicates that participant observation studies are rather uncommon in logistics research. This paper thus highlights the potential of using this method in logistics research, particularly when investigating the overlooked, but essential, interorganizational aspects of logistics and SCM.

The purpose of this paper is to conduct a structured review of literature on lesson study (LS) in initial teacher education (ITE). The focus was on how learning and observation were discussed in studies of LS in ITE.

Each national team (in Norway and Britain) undertook independent searches of published peer-reviewed articles. The resulting articles were then combined, screened and collaboratively reviewed, the focus being on two areas of enquiry: how learning is represented and discussed; and the extent to which observation is described and used to capture evidence of learning.

The literature review indicated that there was no universally held understanding of, or explanation for, the process of observation, how it should be conducted, and who or what should be the principal focus of attention. There was also a lack of clarity in the definition of learning and the use of learning theory to support these observations.

This study was limited to a review of a selection of peer-reviewed journal articles, published in English. It arrives at some tentative conclusions, but its scope could have been broadened to include more articles and other types of published material, e.g. theses and book chapters.

Research that investigates the use of LS in ITE needs to be more explicit about how learning is defined and observed. Furthermore, LS research papers need to assure greater clarity and transparency about how observations are conducted in their studies.

This literature review suggests that discussion of both learning and observation in ITE LS research papers should be strengthened. The review highlights three principal challenges that ITE LS researchers should consider: how to prepare student-teachers to observe (professional noticing being a promising option), the wide variation in the focus of classroom observation in ITE lesson studies, and discussion of what is understood by learning needs to stand at the heart of preparation for lesson studies in ITE.

Domestic preparation practices influence the sensory properties and nutritional composition of food products. Information on the variability in actual domestic preparation practices is needed to assess the influence of applied conditions on the sensory and nutritional quality of food. The collection of such information requires a reliable, valid and practical research method. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Direct in-home observations, observations in a model-kitchen using cameras, and a self-reporting questionnaire were evaluated for reliability and validity, to study domestic food preparation practices by consumers. Broccoli preparation practices by Dutch consumers were checked by these three methods in this research paper.

All three research methods were found to be test-retest, inter-observer, parallel-form reliable; and face, content and concurrent valid. However, the self-reporting questionnaire is the most practical research method that can be administered on a large number of respondents in a short time to capture the wide variations in preparation practices.

Consumers can be assisted on domestic food preparation practices that reach their sensory preferences (e.g. texture, colour) as well as have health benefits on consumption.

The purpose of this paper is to use an inter-disciplinary approach to examine the relevance of F.W. Taylor’s principles to modern shop-floor practices in the context of a manufacturing organization.

Standard time study guidelines laid out by the ILO were adopted and random observations made between two operators independently performing an identical operation in the shop-floor premises of a particular factory.

It was evident from the study that modern management has developed the science for each element of the operator’s manual work, as postulated and proposed by F.W. Taylor. It was also evident that completion of the operation on time was necessary for the operators but not as important as the total number of jobs performed during the duration of the shift. These empirical findings highlighted the high relevance of F.W. Taylor’s principles to modern shop-floor practices.

The authors adopted time study observation as the single method to collect real data from real practices but this could be considered as a biased approach. Since the time study observation is a slow, time consuming, and expensive process of obtaining data, the authors restricted the study to only two operators. Further, the study was carried out in a real setting under several assumptions that may limit its wider applications and practical implications. The study findings suggest that measuring the operator’s performance in terms of time consumption and resource utilization is necessary but not sufficient to evaluate and improve his/her productivity because operators evaluate their performance in terms of the total number of jobs completed during the duration of the shift. Therefore, it is suggested that the managers on the modern shop-floor measure the output at the aggregate level for the given input, while developing new work methods as well as devising performance management and reward systems.

The study has contributed to the body of knowledge by conducting a complete assessment of F.W. Taylor’s first principle from its origin to its application in modern shop-floor practices. Also, the authors empirically examined the relevance of Taylor’s principles to modern shop-floor practices in the context of a manufacturing organization. The study supports the descriptive work of Freeman (1996), who envisaged the relevance of Taylor’s ideas to modern management practices; also, it gives a few directions to test behavioral operations theory in terms of using real operational data to examine an established organization theory (Gino and Pisano, 2008).

The purpose of this paper is to discuss methodological issues concerning the use of video observation of a single lesson as a supplement to interviews when studying teachers’ practice and competencies.

Using a Danish follow-up study focused on teachers’ practice as a jumping-off point, the authors address both opportunities and challenges when triangulating interviews with video observations of a single lesson. The discussion is structured around the four challenges when using video observations presented by Derry et al. (2010), namely selection, technology, analysis and ethics.

Based on experiences from the follow-up study, the use of video observations for triangulation has the potential to nuance the meanings ascribed to teachers’ practice. This approach entails productive challenges that can support the more nuanced and diverse perspectives on teachers’ practice if used proactively.

Although there is a wide body of literature on conducting interviews and observations when studying teachers’ practice, the use of a combination of interviews and video observations is seldom addressed. This paper presents concrete experience of how to capture different aspects of teachers’ practice by triangulating data generated from interviews and from video observations in a research design with limited resources. The authors discuss what to consider when planning and conducting video observations of a single lesson as part of an interview-based study.

The purpose of this paper is to understand better the number of people consuming alcohol, the types of beverages chosen and the amount of alcohol consumed.

Actual alcohol consumption collected using the covert observation method is compared with claimed alcohol consumption collected through surveys to understand the extent of the gap between claimed and actual behaviour.

A notable gap between claimed and actual drinking levels was evident. A total of 70 percent more males were observed drinking alcohol at risky or high‐risk levels while 49 percent more females were observed drinking at risky or high risk levels when compared to claimed behaviour data. Further, a higher proportion of people were observed drinking alcohol than claims lead one to believe.

This research used human covert observation, thus limiting episode length. Further, this study was restricted to six venues in one month of one year. Future research opportunities abound including the use of electronic devices, variation in the observation methodology employed, and extending covert observation to different venue types, locations, and times of year.

The covert observation method can be used to critique the impact of the socially responsible programs and practices. Public policy makers may need to be mindful that alcohol may be consumed by more people in larger amounts than is currently reported in studies employing survey methodologies.

The paper demonstrates how the covert observation method can be used to record what consumers actually do. The covert observation method can be used to extend the understanding of alcohol consumption by enabling researchers to observe behaviour in naturalistic settings.

This teleobservation pilot study focuses on an innovative approach for the preparation of elementary social studies preservice teacher candidates through the use of interactive videoconferencing to provide observations of elementary classrooms. Preservice teacher candidates observed social studies lessons team-taught by regular classroom teachers and university professors in public school classrooms via videoconferencing equipment. Preservice teacher candidates remained on campus while another professor guided them through the social studies observation. Qualitative data were collected from preservice teacher candidates completing their social studies methods course through reflective summaries, KWL charts, and archived threaded discussions. The benefits and challenges of teleobservation are discussed along with implications and possibilities for future work. Specifically, the goals of this project included providing future social studies teachers with the following opportunities: 1) observe an elementary classroom in real-time; 2) discuss teaching as it is happening, and 3) observe university social studies professors modeling theory into practice.