Observations of care were developed as part of a professional development programme by the Royal College of Nursing in 1997 and have since been used in both professional development and research settings, but their use as part of the research process is potentially problematic. This is due to a lack of clarity and discussion regarding their philosophical positioning and the associated methodological issues likely to be encountered by qualitative researchers. Observations of care can be seen as part of a wider ethnographic tradition of participant observation, but because of the lack of clarity regarding their provenance and utility, novice researchers may experience difficulty in locating them within the ethnographic paradigm. The aim of this paper is to consider the issues associated with their transfer from part of a professional development strategy to their use within a qualitative research setting, illustrating key methodological issues with examples from the author’s own research. It is hoped that this paper will be the start of a critical discourse on their use within research.
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