Conscious Nonreporting. Researchers may omit aspects of the setting or events to protect individuals or relations in the setting. For example, a researcher discovers an extramarital affair involving a prominent person but wishes to protect the person’s good name and image. A more serious problem is a breach of ethics. This occurs when a researcher fails to present evidence that does not support his or her argument or interpretation of data. Researchers should present evidence that both supports and fails to confirm an interpretation. Readers can then weigh both types of evidence and judge the support for the researcher’s interpretation.
Limitation by Omission
Qualitative researchers need to be sensitive to distinctions of race, sex, and age, and to other major social divisions. For example, a white field or historical-comparative researcher who includes only whites in a study of a multiracial society needs to recognize that his or her analysis is limited and some perspectives are excluded. Had the researcher included all perspectives, his or her interpretations might have been different. When engaged in data analysis, a researcher needs to ask: What points of view are not being considered? What do events look like from the standpoint of all parts of society?