An important feature of this type of research is that it may take a good deal of time to 'immerse' oneself in the culture before beginning to see the patterns of meaning that the informants use to understand their lives. Research notes need to be as "unfiltered' by existing theories as possible, to avoid imposing some inappropriate pre-existing theory or schemes onto the data:
Ethnographic studies are carried out to satisfy three simultaneous requirements associated with the study of human activities: the need for an empirical approach; the need to remain open to elements that cannot be codified at the time of the study; a concern for grounding the phenomena observed in the field.