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essentially a conversational population from which I could later extract episodes
of heightened sociable interaction. Second, it provided me with conversational
context which could be drawn upon in the analytical stages. In addition, on
replaying the tapes, capturing as much of the interaction as possible would give
me some sense of the ebb and flow of events, some 'feel' for the gatherings
beyond that which I may have derived from mere co-presence. Above all,
recording in this way provided a permanent 'record' of what had been said.
In addition to the collection of conversational data, I carried what is
generically referred to as participant observation. Participant observation is a
rather grand title for the exercise I actually engaged during my presence in
these sociable settings. This involved taking observational notes in situ and post
gatherings. By and large however, these were limited in both quantity and
quality. There was an interesting distinction to be made between this activity in
English settings and that in German settings. In the former, my observations of
conversational interaction seemed rather unproblematic, in that I could observe
'behind' the interaction as it were. The interaction itself involved little cognitive
effort -I just 'got involved' as the others did. In the German settings things were
a little different. Here, observation took the form of a type of 'practical PO' or
ethno PO: My observations directly informed my actions in an attempt to 'do
sociability right'. In this sense, my observations of German gatherings yielded
more new and perhaps even more pertinent aspects of the milieu that I was in.
Caveats aside, I contend recollections of observations do provide an overview
of things that weren't recorded or selected. The results of this ethnographic
technique are perhaps best illustrated in Chapter 5.
A second additional method that I employed that I am even more hesitant
about posited as 'method'was the consultation with my wife, Elke. Throughout
and subsequent to the data gathering phase, I seldom consulted with
participants themselves regarding the nature of their comments and
involvement in the interaction. However, I regularly 'checked' my observations
with Elke for verification and validation. In this sense, Elke can be regarded as
my'key informant'. Finally, much of the analysis that is carried out in Chapters 5
to 7 below is frequently embedded in more anecdotal evidence from my own
past experience in both settings. This does carry at least some validity, as it is
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