Self-Observation: What use is such an account to anyone else?

We are (most of us) very interested in ourselves and routi­nely engage in self-scrutiny at one level or another. But we do not usually seek to impose that activity on other people. Treating oneself as an object of formal research is another matter. The purpose of research is to make some contribu­tion to knowledge: what can self-observational research offer?

Self-indulgent speculation of the ‘who-am-I-and-why-am-I- here’ variety, sometimes passed off as ‘reflective learning’, has litde to offer; nor do grandiose quasi-philosophical speculations. It is essentially a down-to-earth business but one where the ‘insider’ perspective is cridcal to under­standing: where thoughts, feelings, perceptions – as well as what you do or make or what happens to you – are a necessary part of a complete picture.

In this chapter we have focused on self-observation as a way of studying the creative process. But that experiential approach has much to offer in other aspects of the human condition. For example:

• the onset, course, treatment and recovery from mental illness
• the process of retirement or of being made redundant in mid-life
• taking a degree as a mature student
• setting up your own business.

There is a good deal of formal ‘objective’ evidence, often statistical in character, about all of these; but such sources add litde to our understanding of the actual experience. Conversely, insight gained through experiential accounts may radically alter our interpretation of these kinds of for­mal data.

Source: Gillham Bill (2008), Observation Techniques: Structured to Unstructured, Continuum; Illustrated edition.