Observation has long been used as a method of study in ethnographic research but its use in the study of criminal activities or in environments prone to violence is usually marred with a lot of ethical controversies. This is mainly due to the role that the ethnographer plays in the activities where they may sometimes be exposed to violence endangering their safety or even have to take part in the violence putting into question the integrity of the research. Despite these shortcomings, ethnography remains a sure way of obtaining data about groups and cultures that are shroud in secrecy and allow very little insider information to leak to the outside world. Collecting data in the natural setting exposes researchers to the natural elements present in the environment being studied. If the research environment is prone to violence and other forms of man-made dangers, then the researcher can easily be affected by the same. For instance, in the study on bouncers, the ethnographer could easily have to get into a fight with patrons and get injured or injure a patron (Winslow, Hobbs, Lister and Hadfield, 2001). The presence of the ethnographer in the natural setting could lead to a situation where the researcher interacts with the research subjects and excessively empathizes with them thus leading to researcher bias. The use of existing data in the study of groups such as the bouncers would help but to a minimal extent. The researcher could get statistics on official issues such as police reports on violence, deaths but the attitudes and reasons that make the group act as it does would be hard to learn from official statistics and agency records. Participant observation was used in the study where the researcher not only observed but they also actively took part in the activities that the bouncers took part in. the method was quite effective as it allowed the bouncers to feel comfortable around the researcher thus allowing him to see their real attitudes and behaviors which he recorded. The biggest challenge faced by the researchers was how to gain the trust of the bouncers and be allowed into their inner circle. This challenge was addressed by having a member of the team who once worked as a bouncer and had the physical attributes of a bouncer do the research thus easily blending with the bouncers and gaining their trust. Another challenge was how to maintain the ethical part of the research with the researcher being put in situations where he would have to participate in violent activity. This was not fully addressed and left a bit open since it was hard to control how the group would behave and how the researcher would also react considering he was then a part of the group.
References
Winslow S., Hobbs D., Lister S. and Hadfield P. (2001). Get Ready to Duck: Bouncers and the Realities of Ethnographic Research on Violent Groups. British Journal of Criminology , 41 (3), 536-548. Retrieved from http://bjc.oxfordjournals.org/content/41/3/546.full.pdf+html
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