Participant Observation and Phased Assertion as Research Strategies in the Canadian Arctic

Abstract

Participant observation is the basic and defining research strategy for cultural anthropologists, a useful tool for building rapport, establishing trust, and gaining an understanding of culture as experienced by its members. This article uses the author's experience working in an Inuit community in Canada to explore another use of participant observation: the acquisition of communicative competence. In small, bounded communities such as those in the Canadian Arctic, the development and display of cultural and communicative competence is necessary to overcome apathy and sometimes hostility toward researchers. Furthermore, establishment of these abilities allows for the use of phased assertion as an interview probe. Phased assertion works not only as a data collection technique, it reinforces communicative competence and improves informant rapport.