Population Not Aware of Events. Some activities or events are not noticed by people in a setting or by researchers writing secondary documents. For example, at one time the fact that employers considered a highly educated woman only for clerical jobs was not noticed as an issue. Until societal awareness of sexism and gender equality grew, few saw this practice as limiting the opportunities of woman. Another example is that country-western song writers deny writing with a formula. Despite their lack of awareness, a formula is apparent through a content analysis of lyrics. The fact that members or participants in a setting are unaware of an issue does not mean that a researcher should ignore it or fail to look for its influence.
Population Wants to Hide Events. People may misrepresent events to protect themselves or others. For example, elites often refuse to discuss unethical behavior and may have documents destroyed or held from public access for a long period. Likewise, for many years, cases of incest went unreported in part because they violated such a serious taboo that incest was simply hushed up.
Overlook commonplace Events. Everyday, routine events set expectations and create a taken-for-granted attitude. For example, television program appear so often in conversations that they are rarely noticed. Because most people have a television set and watch TV regularly, only someone who rarely watches television or who is a careful analyst may notice the topic. Or a researcher observes a historical period in which cigarette smoking is common. He or she may become aware only if he or she is a nonsmoker or lives in a period when smoking has become a public health issue.