Covert and overt observations in pharmacy practice

Abstract

Observation is a powerful method to capture the reality in pharmacy practice. It is divided into participant and non-participant observations according to the involvement of the researcher into the process being studied. Depending on the level of disclosure, observation may be classified as overt or covert, where covert observation has the advantage of minimising the Hawthorne effect while overt observation produces in depth observations, capturing a wider scope of processes. This chapter details the main features and the pros and cons of these different types of observation, mentioning useful tools to support such studies and finalising by commenting on the impact of observation in pharmacy practice.