Qualitative research is used by researchers to access the research participant’s thoughts and emotions, which allow them develop and understand the meaning which persons assign to their experiences. In qualitative studies, the research is an instrument of collecting data. Ethnology is one of qualitative research methods. Ethnography entails the use of direct observation by researchers to study participants in their real life setting, for a long period. This paper discusses ethnographical research, by presenting its benefits in relation to gaining an understanding of a distinct social sphere, and the role played by a qualitative researcher in conducting and reporting ethnographic research.
The Role of Researcher in Qualitative Research
The qualitative researcher must explain appropriate features of self, such as any assumptions and biases, any experiences and expectations to justify their capability to perform the study. Additionally, it is valuable for the researcher to have a study journal which explains individual thoughts and reflections, self-perceptions, in a different journal, and how grouping occurs ( Putney et al., 2007) . Also, a qualitative researcher must describe their role as either insiders or outsiders in the research process. An effective qualitative researcher should ask analytical questions, listen, reflect, and inquire more penetrating questions to have deeper conversation levels. A good qualitative researcher pursues to create a picture through the use of theories and ideas from various sources.
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Ethnographic research has these qualitative attributes, although ethnographers more particularly pursue to understand what participants do to build the culture in which live, and the way the culture grows over time. The ethnographer actively takes part in the group to obtain an insider’s view if the group, as well as to gain experiences similar to the members of the group ( McGranahan, 2018) . In writing an ethnography, an ethnographer builds an account of the group on the basis of his participation, an analysis of group artifacts and documents, and interviews with the group members. This entry provides a summary of ethnography and the process of ethnographic research, including writing, analysis, data collection, and negotiating process ( McGranahan, 2018) . An ethnographer puts himself in settings which are unfamiliar to them to obtain new insights. Typically, to best achieve this, they study a group of individuals over a very long time. Participant observation is mainly qualitative, in which observers are interested in recording what they observe in the environment they live.
There are various forms of problems which might affect qualitative research – the researcher-participant relations, the research design, and the researcher’s subjective analyses information gathered. Other issues include the informed consent process, confidentiality and privacy, and data storage and management practices ( Miller et al., 2012) . Besides, ethnographers may encounter various challenges in ethnographic research. These challenges include access to participants and obtaining of informed consents, and the role the researcher should adopt during the collection of data, building trusting relations with the research participants, and the issue of reliability and bias. Besides, ethnographic data collection approaches generate huge volumes of unstructured data from various sources, which could be challenging to analyze ( Miller et al., 2012). The different ethical principles that qualitative researchers must follow to ensure their neutral and ethical position in qualitative research include avoiding harming the participants, maintaining anonymity and privacy, maintaining confidentiality, seeking informed consent from the participants, and analyzing the data in a way which avoids fraudulent analysis, misinterpretations, and misstatements.
Loïc Wacquant’s Research
Overall, the work of Wacquant explores and links different fields of research on urban inequality, ghettoization, the body, and the creation of punishment as an establishment focused on stigmatized and poor populations ( Eakin, 2003) . In his works, Wacquant provides and ethnographic account of Chicago’s ghetto through describing the boxing sport and analyzing it as an image mirror of the street. Wacquant describes how the disciplined boxing practice reflects life on the ghetto streets. Moreover, he outlines boxing as well as his personal experience learning boxing in a community gym as the development of a pugilistic habitus (Abrahams, 2011). Motivated by how bodies learn boxing in a Chicago ghetto gym, he calls for a carnal sociology, a form of sociology that offers insights into how general discourse and policies become inscribed in the bodies of human beings ( Wacquant, 2001) . Overall, Wacquant’s work points some crucial directions, primarily refocusing the social sciences on the links between social issues and personal troubles and macro and micro structures and how they might be analyzed by understanding how society is inscribed on and in the human body.
Wacquant kept an ethical and neutral position in his work. He performed all his research by observing ethical considerations and treating the participants with respect. When he first approached his experience staying in ghetto, he was shocked by the poor living conditions of people ( Wacquant, 1992; Wacquant, 1998) . He went ahead and looked at the environment the ghetto people lived in through an ethnographic approach, to understand their experiences. Besides, he became an insider in the research by becoming a boxer to learn boxing and the struggles of people in ghetto (Burress, 2003). Accordingly he kept an ethnographic diary by writing his daily experiences and the setting of the boxers. Through this approach, Wacquant was able to uphold an ethical and neutral position.
The ethnographic approach Wacquant employed was the best as a sociologist in this context because it helped him explore the ethnography world and the real life of ghetto people and boxers. Through the ethnographic approach, he was able to fit with the ghetto and get more in touch with the study participants, to both experience their lives and environment the lived. The kind of research Wacquant conducted through ethnographic approach would not have been possible through quantitative method, and the results would be very different ( Wacquant, 2014) . The type of researcher he conducted could not be quantified, but rather experienced through feelings and feelings. This was the only method that would allow write his work through his own experiences.
Impact of Research
Overall, qualitative research focuses on exploring new phenomenon and examining the issues that surround people, and the motives, reasons and explanations beyond the phenomenon. Particularly, ethnographic research is important in comprehending the unique worlds because the ethnographer actively takes engages the groups to obtain an insider’s view if the group, as well as to gain experiences similar to the members of the group ( Putney et al., 2007) . In writing an ethnography, an ethnographer builds an account of the group on the basis of his participation, an analysis of group artifacts and documents, and interviews with the group members.
One of the major benefits of ethnographic research is that it aids in identifying and analyzing unexpected issues. The in-situ presence of an ethnographic researcher helps in identifying the real social issues facing members of a particular culture because the ethnographer is in constant contact with the members of the culture under study. Ethnographers are generally regarded as being able to provide a realistic and comprehensive illustration of the attitudes and behaviors of the participants ( Putney et al., 2007) . Due to their subjective nature, ethnographic studies are very useful in identifying and analyzing relevant emotions and attitudes of the participants, and thus informing the readers of understanding of their unique social realms.
Moreover, the possible effect of research in promoting positive social change via public policies is that research can identify the negative attitudes and behaviors of a group of members in a community, and then recommend the necessary measures of improving these adverse social behaviors and attitudes to bring about positive social change in the community. Accordingly, through the recommendations, public policies could be implemented to create positive social change.
Conclusion
Qualitative researchers have a crucial role in qualitative research of explaining the relevant research aspects including the nature of the research, expectations and experiences, biases and experiences, and their qualification to conduct the research. The ethnographic researcher should actively participate in the study group’s activities to gain an insider’s understanding of the participants, and gain experiences similar to the participants. An ethnographer should also put themselves in the environments which are unfamiliar to them to gain new insights. The paper has described the issues related to qualitative research, the ethnographic research challenges, and the ways qualitative researchers can maintain ethical and neutral position in qualitative research. Overall, qualitative research focuses on studying new phenomenon and understanding the issues which affect society. The importance of ethnographic research is understand the unique social worlds by actively engaging with people and gaining their experiences. Lastly, research contributes to positive social change by recommending the public polices which can be implemented to improve the social behavior and attitudes of people, based on their research findings.
References
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Burress, C. (2003, December 8). UC’s ‘boxing sociologist’ / Combative French professor spent 3 years in ring. https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/UC-s-boxing-sociologist- Combative-French-2509824.php#photo-2684464
Eakin, E. (2003). A professor who refuses to pull his punches. The New York Times , 9-9.
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Wacquant, L. J. (1992). The social logic of boxing in black Chicago: Toward a sociology of pugilism. Sociology of Sport Journal , 9 (3), 221-254.
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