What can Researchers Do?
Introduction
Research allows people to change their opinions or theory into facts and evidence. Therefore, researchers conduct studies on topics to offer conclusions based on relevant facts. Further, researchers can use different methods, and the type of method used depends on the item to be investigated, the target people, and the kind of data that will be provided. Ethnography is a research model that allows researchers to immerse themselves in a distinct social sphere to experience the lives of people under study (Hensch & Nairne, 1997). In such studies, the role that research plays is critical, yet he or she must maintain an ethical and neutral stance and use their experience for positive social change. Therefore, this paper explores the benefits of ethnographic research techniques and the role of a researcher in performing and reporting findings from such studies.
Role of the Researcher
The duty of a researcher in a qualitative study is different from the quantitative researcher in that in qualitative research, and a researcher is a tool or object of data collection. The implication is that the researcher mediates data through himself or herself as a human instrument. The qualitative researcher needs to describe the relevant components of self, including potential biases as well as assumptions, experiences, and any expectations to fulfill his or her ability to conduct research. The researcher in the qualitative research study is expected to offer meaningful data from the participants and record any potential biases. According to McCusker (2015), qualitative research aims to understand the experiences and approaches of participants from a researcher’s perspective as opposed to analyzing data. The implication is that the researcher should not just be concerned with survey data from participants and its compilation. Instead, the researcher should attempt to use focus groups and find out the reasons for participants to provide answers the way they did. Further, the qualitative researcher should indicate their role, if he or she is an insider and full participant or an outsider who views the events more accurately.
In ethnographic research, researchers need to indicate their role so that they can capture personal experiences. Researchers in ethnographic studies attempt to obtain a complete view of the subjects and demonstrate their skills through observation and relevant other as posited by Creswell (chpt 9). Through ethnographic research studies, researchers show their role as being part of the participants and getting more in-depth information about a particular phenomenon in such settings. The implication is that researchers in ethnographic studies are expected to reach closer to the event being studied to help the audience appreciate their findings because they will know the personal views of the researcher.
It is essential to understand that while conducting qualitative research, researchers face unique issues while they gain confidential information from their study subjects. Participants may not be ready or willing to share confidential information with the public. Therefore, researchers need to deal with the issue of privacy. Ethics of confidentiality and privacy are critical issues for any researcher in qualitative studies. The researchers should observe confidentiality and never reveal any personal details of their participants (Bahramnezhad et al., 2014). Researchers must also disclose all information and details of their research, especially the objectives as well as potential effects of the findings to their participants, to avoid misunderstanding as well as legal tussles. The research team or researcher should get consent from participants to prevent any legal issues associated with the study’s findings.
Researchers in ethnographical studies face different challenges. Firstly, collecting ethnographical information through the internet is a challenge since one does not observe the actions and behaviors of their participants (Hensch & Nairne, 1997). Therefore, the researcher cannot know the identity of the participant. Secondly, researchers in ethnographical studies need to rely mainly on interviews with participants. The implication is that meetings may not provide a holistic view of the person and the reasons for their reactions. The research should only use such information based on the context of its generation.
Conducting qualitative research and reporting their findings to require researchers to take specific actions to ascertain that they remain ethical and neutral. Firstly, they must adhere to ethical principles or guidelines. These include informing the participants about the components of the study and building an honest relationship with the participants (Sutton, 2015). Secondly, researchers need to protect their subjects from any kind of harm and abuse and explain any risks that could be associated with the study. The researcher should have work ethics and provide adequate explanations for any experiment and eliminate potential misunderstandings. More fundamentally, he or she must maintain liability in case of any harmful consequences.
Loic Wacquant Research
The study by Wacquant was about getting answers and explanations on boxing, and that struggles and trails that those involved in it encounter. In his ethnographic research, Wacquant explores the impact that boxing as a sport has on the body. Further, he makes an association or link between his study and the living conditions of boxers in urban low-income areas, especially inequality in an urban ghetto and how it affects people. The researcher conducts his investigation in a university located in a low-income neighborhood and the effects of these settings on people. In his first book, the researcher details his life as a boxer and the lessons that he derived in this situation.
In his work, Wacquant maintained an ethical and neutral stance while providing his experience as a boxer in this low-income community. He researched from a moral perspective and respectfully treated all participants. He also built a trusting relationship with them.
As expected of his role as an ethnographical researcher, Wacquant kept a journal where he put down what he experiences daily as well as how boxers suffer in the world. Through the journal, Wacquant annotated his experiences and observations during the study (Hensch & Nairne, 1997). As demonstrated through his expertise, Wacquant was an excellent qualitative researcher who asked probing questions and listened as well thought and posed more in-depth questions to ascertain a more profound understanding through the conversations that he carried out. Through the answers, he took deliberate actions and decisions to build the overall situation based on the ideas and theories that he gathered from different sources in his study. Through the journal, Wacquant could now interpret the content in a better way and offer explanations to the audience.
Wacquant’s actions or moves to carry out the research have a justification. He got into an area that he wanted to explore and observed the participants in a perfect environment as well as articulate the findings. He formed or developed intimate relationships with the participants to understand their lives. The participants gave Wacquant respect since they considered him one of their own or peers. Through this perspective, they offered more qualitative information during the interviews. Through this approach, the researcher also gained a better understanding of what they implied during their interactive sessions and interviews, especially the firsthand knowledge based on their encounters. Therefore, his involvement in this community allowed him to attain more profound outcomes from the research. The implication is that because of the nature of the study, the researcher obtained more information and interacted with the participants. However, this could not have been possible using a quantitative research approach because of its strategy for data collection.
Impact of Research
Qualitative research is a powerful tool that researchers can use to inform their audiences and enhance their understanding of social worlds today, especially issues that impact their daily lives. Ethnographical research allows researchers to identify not only social problems but also injustices that people encounter (Aspers & Corte, 2019). Through qualitative research, researchers can analyze possible challenges in society and the different facets of such challenges. Researchers in qualitative studies use ethnographical studies to understand social problems on a host of issues like racial bias. Ethnographic research is used in observing how people behave and propose precise explanations as well as solutions to remedy the situation. Researchers can identify and quantify certain statements made by participants or recognize other issues which were unknown before to both the public and even the researcher. Through ethnographic studies, society can observe, define, and understand in a better way the social issues that are impacting people’s lives and how to address the inherent challenges associate with them.
The potential effect of research supporting positive social transformation through public policies is enormous, especially ethnographic studies (Sutton, 2015). Different issues in society like political environment, advancement in technology, and the emergence of infectious diseases that ravage huge populations will create new and complicated problems as well as perceived injustices. Therefore, through ethnographic research as a component of the qualitative method, people understand the experiences and effects of such effects and how they caused some negative impacts on their lives (Aspers & Corte, 2019). For the public to understand and appreciate the need for change in policies, they must be aware of the issues like racial profiling or disparity in the justice system to get the root cause and how to address it. The implication is that qualitative research has the potential to change how people perceive problems and the requisite solutions required in solving them.
Conclusion
Researchers in qualitative studies like ethnographic research plays a critical role in the outcomes of their education. As illustrated, qualitative research offers opportunities for a researcher to attain a better understanding of their participants and get in-depth views on different phenomena under investigation. As such, qualitative research is critical in generating solutions to social issues affecting society today.
References
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