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Participant observation is a process of registering, interpreting, and recording. The process and the kinds of data are influenced by continuing observed-observer transactions. The role of the observer may be passive or active. In either case effective involvement with the observed develops inevitably and may range from sympathetic identification to projective distortion. The form it takes is a function primarily of the observer's experience, awareness, and personality. Anxiety and bias are sources of distortion, and their adequate handling is a major problem in refining the human instrument for gathering data.
Schwartz et al. (Sat,) studied this question.