Running Head: QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 1

Understanding the Value of Qualitative Research

PERSON X

SOC 333: Research Methods

Instructor: PERSON Y

DATE…….
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Qualitative research is different from other research approaches because it enables the

researcher to explain the data they are gathering. Rather than utilizing statistical data when

figuring out the results, qualitative research interviews participants from a specific or target

group to collect the data that is essential, and the researcher also has the opportunity to see their

immediate experiences. In this paper, I will be explaining the role of a researcher in qualitative

research and more specifically with ethnographic research. I will discuss unique issues, and

concerns within the role of a researcher as well as the actions researchers can take to ensure a

neutral stance. I will also take a look at Loïc Wacquant’s research and determine if he maintained

an ethical or neutral stance. Then I will explain whether or not his research could have been used

with quantitative research method.

Researchers have used the qualitative method all across the world for their research.

Qualitative research is, for the most part, investigative research. The researcher can extract from

their hands-on experience, manage interviews to collect data instead of utilizing numerical data

to reach a result. Qualitative research is used to unmask thoughts and opinions and dig deeper

into an issue by researching a group of individuals or just one person. This kind of method is

beneficial to social issues like racial profiling among the Black community or people of color in

the United States. The researcher can use the qualitative method to understand how these

individuals feel about this specific issue honestly. Qualitative research is meant to investigate the

problem. For example, seeing just how many people are affected by racial profiling, and by

studying this problem, the researcher will have a clearer understanding of the social issue at

hand. There are always concerns with all research methods. In particular, with the qualitative

research method, the researcher should be taking into consideration the individual’s feelings and

behaviors or attitudes that they are displaying when talking about the social issue such as racial
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profiling (Pathank, Jena, & Karla, 2013). The qualitative method involves elements such as

conducting interviews and asking several questions.

A typical research method relating to qualitative research is known as ethnographic

research. “Ethnography is the art and science used to describe a group or culture” (Sangasubana,

2011, p.1). When it comes to social issues like racial profiling among people of color in the

United States, researchers will use this approach to get a clear understanding of the different

kinds of cultures the people have. The ethnography approach also may involve the full

involvement of the researcher in the everyday lives or culture of the individuals under study.

There are distinctive characteristics associated with ethnographic research. The study is

conducted on-site or in a natural setting where real people live. Second, it is personalized since

the researcher is both an observer and participant in the lives of those people (Sangasubana,

2011). Ethnographic approach gathers data in a variety of ways over a long period of time. This

approach is also dialogic since the conclusions and interpretations created through it can be given

feedback and comments from the individuals who are under study (Sangasubana, 2011, p.1).

When using this research approach, the researcher must ask questions and make the people feel

comfortable. The researcher should never make the participants feel like outcasts or make them

feel less than. The researcher has to also keep in mind that when there are ethical issues, they

have to respect the participant's beliefs. There are ethical guidelines and rules the researchers

have to follow for the research study to be successful. The first rule is the researcher has to let all

participants in the study know what the study is about and what data will be gathered and used

for the study. The second rule is that the researchers should also show respect among the

participants and be honest. The third rule is researchers should ensure the safety of all

participants throughout the study, there should be no physical or mental abuse taking place
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whatsoever. If researchers follow the three guidelines stated, they can successfully have a study.

The researcher must follow proper ethical behavior which is a set of moral principles governing

an individual or profession. Any research involving qualitative research must always use ethical

behavior when conducting a study with participants. It is also important that the researcher stay

neutral when executing their research, if they do not have a neutral and ethical stance, their

research will be considered bias resulting in the reader raising questions about the information of

the study. This will also open the door for people to have questions regarding the results due to it

possibly winding up one-sided, and that will not work. With that being said, it is vital that the

researcher remain neutral. According to Creswell & Creswell, 2018, “inquirers explicitly identify

reflexively their biases, values, and personal background, such as gender, history, culture, and

socioeconomic status (SES) that shape their interpretations formed during a study” (Sec 9.3). The

only way to have a great qualitative research report is to follow to ethical guidelines mentioned

above. Even when gathering data or information, “a researcher is expected to analyze data in a

manner that avoids misstatements, misinterpretations, or fraudulent analysis” (Lichtman, 2014,

p.12).

Loic Wacquant’s research was about professional boxing and being a sociologist. Some

of his research included an exploration of the body He also talks about how living in the ghetto

affects people. One of his books which happened to be his first was titled, Body Soul: Notebooks

of an Apprentice Boxer, was about his schooling in the “sweet science” during three and a half

years of boxing with the Woodlawn Gym in Chicago on the southside. Wacquant stated that the

book came about after he had broken his nose during a session where he then was forced to take

a long time out from boxing (Wacquant, 2011). Loic Wacquant came to the University of

Chicago in 1985 to do his doctorate, but upon arriving in Upton Sinclair’s town he stated “my
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intention was to work on a historical anthropology of colonial domination in New Caledonia, but

I got unexpectedly derailed and detoured into America’s dark ghetto” (Wacquant, 2011, p.83).

Wacquant describes living at the edge of the poor black district of Woodlawn as constant tremor

and puzzlement, with unbelievable decay, violence, and misery (Wacquant, 2011, p.83). By

accident, Wacquant found a boxing gym located three blocks from him and decided to learn to be

a boxer. He signed up to box simply because there was nothing else to do, but the gym also was a

platform for observation inside the ghetto, and to meet people. It was here that Wacquant learned

about how the body works in relation to boxing.

Loic Wacquant maintained an ethical and neutral stance during his time as a boxer, and a

sociologist. His research that he conducted were done well within ethics and every one was

treated with respect that his research was done on. Wacquant was shocked to see everyone living

in poverty and such terrible conditions when he arrived at the south side of Chicago. However,

with the help of a friend, Bill Wilson, he taught Wacquant “intellectual courage: to pursue the big

picture, to dig deep into the details, to ask the hard questions” (Wacquant, 2011, p.84). Just like

qualitative research, you look at the bigger picture to discover how others are experiencing it.

Wacquant had an ethnographic diary where he jotted down his experiences that he encountered

every day, and the kind of world boxers lived in (Wacquant, 1998). Loic Wacquant approach is

justified in the end with his boxing and his sociologist career; because he delved into

ethnography and discovered a new world by doing so. By becoming a boxer, even for a short

time, Wacquant learned how to belong in the ghetto and get him intuned with his subject by

plunging himself in the boxing world. If Wacquant chose a different approach such as the

quantitative method, his results might have been different since that method is on collecting

surveys and numerical data. Furthermore, the qualitative approach was the right choice because
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his research became a piece of himself; Wacquant becoming an ethnographer and writing books

on his experience being a boxer, as well as what he went through. The books and articles could

not have been written with the quantitative method, or if it did it would not illustrate what he was

trying to get his readers to know.

In regards to the qualitative method, there are several ways to conduct research that

involves ethnographic, and being a sociologist and an ethnographer, Wacquant made a

remarkable impression and impact on sociologists how he observed the world which was

stepping into the ring and in boxer’s shoes. Ethnographic research involves using ethical and

neutral practices and following ethical guidelines. The researcher has to make sure he is

following those rules. To truly know the life of boxers, he had to become one. He mentioned in

one of his articles what these boxers encounter and what they deal with, how their bodies can get

badly beaten, and how they are not living in fairytales but rather nightmares sometimes

(Wacquant, 2001). Ethnographic research allows for more in-depth into research. It can influence

others because it displays other people cultures and what they are experiencing in the world they

live in. Research can allow change to social issues such as racial profiling among African

Americans in the U.S.. When readers see the qualitative research that a researcher has conducted,

the extent they went to gather the research, they will understand the problem fully and want to do

something about it as well. For example, Wacquant lived in the ghetto when he came to the south

side of Chicago. He wanted to show others what it was like to live in an area like that and

explain social issues in and around the ghetto. Wacquant was able to do this by doing

ethnographic research, meeting the people in the ghetto so that he can understand it. More

research conducted on social issues can pave the way to change those issues. Any of the research

approaches discussed in this paper are possible to improve public policy and fix the social issue.
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In conclusion, qualitative research is about seeking what you do not know as well as

getting more in-depth with research to be fully aware of the issue and how to change or fix the

issue. After going over all the approaches of being a researcher, there are several ethical

practices, and they have to follow the rules set for them. Ethnographic research is digging more

profound with the research and discovering the results. Loic Wacquant overall research and

experience being a boxer, helped him discover a new world living in the ghetto and seeing what

fighters experience. Many research methods are importantly crucial and as researchers continue

exploring more of the world, the more answers we will have to our questions.
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References