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Discuss the role of the researcher as participant observer in Goffmans' study of asylums. The late Erving Goffman spent three years (during the 1950s) as a participant observer in the St Elizabeth Hospital in Washington D.C. Having already carried out much of his work on the structure of the 'self', Goffman turned to the 'self' within an institution, a mental asylum. My aim throughout this essay is to elaborate on Goffmans' role as a participant observer. I shall discuss participant observation in general, and more specifically covert participant observation - the method Goffman chose. As with any method of research there are advantages and disadvantages of participant observation. Participant observation through experience allows the researcher to understand the motives and meanings behind peoples' behaviour; this is exactly what Goffman did, and as a result, his findings became more than just an academic publication - they became material for government policy...

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