 So how do we do ethnographic observation? Let us discuss the different types of observation. Each of these requires a different way of going about it. In participant observation, we join our participants, taking up a role of sorts and getting involved in the activities that form the phenomena we are studying. So we may string flowers along with the family of flower vendors. Non-participant observation is about observing and not getting actively involved. For instance, we may not participate in a surgery or a dental operation. Generalized observation is to observe everything that is taking place around us with equal focus. This applies to early research when we are just about understanding the scenarios and not quite certain what is more important to observe. Observing people's shop in a mall is one example that comes to mind. Focused observation is to limit our attention to activities or events that are only related to the phenomena we are studying. This often happens after we have achieved some certainty about the focus of our fieldwork. Of course, as with all of ethnographic practice, we can shift between these forms of observation as we go about fieldwork. Let us pause for a moment here and do a small exercise. Here you can see a list of different kinds of observations. Participant, non-participant, generalized, focused and another list of examples of observation. Observing students in the playground, observing a child solving a math problem, cooking with a participant, observing sales staff in a shop. Can you match the items on the first line to those in the second one? Take a minute and complete the exercise. And here are our answers. Compare the two sets. If you feel unsure about why your answers do not match ours, post your confusion on the discussion forum. Now let's return to our discussion. Whichever form of observation we deploy, there are certain concepts that are fundamental to the practice of observing. You may recognize these terms from our previous conversations. While we have earlier discussed these as abstract concepts, here we will try to understand how they translate into practice and particularly the practice of observation. Let us take an example here from a film by David and Judith MacDougall with Morning Hearts. The film is set in the Doon School in the state of Uttarakhand. It is an observation of the life of some students living in one of the dormitories of the school. These are primary school children, all boys, who are getting used to the idea of being away from home and in a boarding school environment. In one of the sequences of the film, the filmmakers observe a class in progress. It is a class of English literature where the teacher is discussing a certain poem. Let us watch the sequence. The summer and autumn had been so wet that in winter the corn was growing yet. It was a pittier sight to see all around. The grain lie rotting on the ground. You know what pittiest means? Yes? No, no. What does pittiest mean? The word pittiest. And a pittiful sight that something that awakens sorrow in you, arouses the feelings of sorrow in you, right? Every day the starving poor crowded around Bishop Hattow's door, for he had a plentiful last-year store and all the neighborhood could tell his granaries were furnished well. The poor people obviously were starving, but everyone knew that Bishop Hattow had kept a lot of grain in his granaries. At last Bishop Hattow appointed a day to quiet the poor without delay. He bade them to his great barn repair, and they should have food for the winter there. Rejoice such tidings good to hear. The poor folk flocked from far and near. The great barn was full as it could hold of women, children, and young and old. Then when he saw it could hold no more. Bishop Hattow, he made fast the door. And while for mercy on Christ they called, he set fire to the barn and burned them all. And they of course started crying out for mercy in the name of Christ. And what did it turn out to be because of the kind of man that Bishop Hattow was? It was a painful death that they got in return. Right? So it's a far deeper crime, do you understand? It's not a crime against a human being, it's a crime against humanity. Do you understand that? Okay, what do you call the voice of the heart? What do you call it? Not ego? Yes, yes, come on. What? Yes, the heart, what do you call the voice of the heart? What do you call it? No, the voice of the conscience. Yes, that's right. Sit down all of you. What does conscience do when you've done something wrong, even a small mistake? It whips you, doesn't it? And that's the biggest punishment, the whiplash of your own conscience. Let us reflect on what we just saw. Can you note down what makes this sequence a rich piece of observation? Many of you may point out the details that the filmmakers observe. Some of you may have noticed the students' expressions while the teacher is asking some questions. Others could have noted how the students engage with what the teacher is explaining to them. These are all very important details and constitute the imponderblia of the classroom. The decision of the filmmakers to pay attention to these is evident of a rich ethnographic observation. But it is not only imponderblia that makes an observation ethnographic in nature. You might recollect our discussion on thick description. We had said that an ethnographic description is considered thick if it is able to convey the web of meanings or culture which underlie our observation. For this we need to pay attention to the context. This includes the immediate physical environment, the social structures and cultural beliefs in which the phenomena is located. What do we learn from the film excerpt about the social structure and cultural beliefs that shape interactions in the classroom? Think for a moment and note down your answers. Some of you may say that the classroom is a hierarchical space with a clearly defined structure with a teacher as an authority figure. Some others may say that the classroom interactions are defined by rules such as raising hands or not speaking out of turn. You might also have noted that the structure sometimes dissolves and it becomes a less formal space. But how did we learn all of this from this short video clip? It is by paying attention to observable behavior that we learn about the intangible aspects of the context. The ways in which children react to a question asked by their teacher by raising their hands hoping to be picked. The expression on their faces denotes excitement and anticipation. This reveals that there is a desire to showcase knowledge to the teacher and other students. The social structure of the classroom is mirrored in its physical layout. The teacher sits in the front facing all of the students and the students' deaths are all arranged in a strict row by row formation. But this structure also dissolves. When the students gather around the teacher, the layout of the classroom is temporarily disrupted and so is the authority that otherwise separates the teacher from students. So you see, this short video clip is a great example of ethnographic observation because it pays careful attention to the imponderably. In order to be attentive in such a manner, we need to be completely present and alert as we observe physically, intellectually and emotionally. We have to be attentive to whatever is happening in the immediate time and space around us. Acts of recording such as writing, drawing, making photographs or even speaking what we observe into an audio recorder can help us be more alert to small details. In drawing something, for example, we pay attention to its details. Similarly, in photographing or writing about an occurrence, we need to articulate what we are observing. The act of not taking makes us look at something carefully to notice its details with as much accuracy as we can. So in fieldwork, we make records, not simply to document, but to observe with greater alertness and attention. For those of you who want to read some more examples of imponderably in ethnographic writing, we have a very interesting paper for you. And after that, you can take a quiz. The quiz we have for you here is based on the reading and on the video clip that we just discussed.