Middle East Journal of Islamic Studies and Culture | Volume-1 | Issue-1 | Pages: 22-25

Aisha Ibrahim Ningi

Abstract: The paper gives an account of the author’s field experiences with emphasis on participant observation as one of the qualitative data collection technique. This technique has been used in a variety of disciplines as a tool for collecting data about people, processes, and cultures in qualitative inquiry. The qualitative inquiry is adopted because the objective is not to make a generalisation, but to explore the research problem with a view to establishing a detailed meaning of the central phenomenon from the informants’ actions through observations. This observational technique would enlightens the readers about the context in which informants used the meaning that their actions hold in their lives. Being the technical tool, the extended observation while in the field lasted for a whole period of six (6) months precisely from February to August. Thus, being an “insider”, the author got continuously engaged observing activities of interest and daily recording of field notes in various forms so as to present the world of the host population in human contexts.