Participant observation is a term that characterizes the work of ethnographers, or field researchers. The term describes the method by which ethnographers or field researchers collect data by participating in order to observe. Rather than study a group or culture as an outsider, ethnographers immerse themselves in the culture and the everyday life of the people they study. They do so in order to gain a more accurate perspective without imposing their own cultural biases and conceptual frameworks. This method is also less threatening to the people studied, as they are less situated as a spectacle of study.
An "emic" perspective is the native's perspective or point of view. It contrasts with the "etic" perspective, which is the outsider's perspective or point of view. In ethnographic research, the goal is for the ethnographer or field researcher to achieve the emic perspective, which is free of the outsider's bias. In order to achieve an emic perspective, an ethnographer must immerse herself in the culture of the group and record detailed field notes, conduct extensive interviews that are based on open-ended (rather than leading) questions and gather writings and documents as data.
Quantitative research reflects data in numbers. For instance, it provides facts and figures and statistics that profile a group of people and behavioral tendencies within this group. Quantitative research counts instances of a phenomenon by administering surveys and questionnaires. This kind of research is important in ethnography, but it is supplemented with qualitative research.
Qualitative research is more descriptive, and it is this kind of research that really distinguishes ethnography from other scientific fields. Qualitative research seeks to more comprehensively and descriptively portray groups of study by representing them in ways that facts, figures and data cannot. For instance, qualitative research in ethnography is often collected in the form of stories and narrative. Study participants are encouraged to share their thoughts and experiences by telling their stories. Ethnographers extract a lot of important details from these personal narratives.