Prolonged engagement is used to reduce the impact of reactivity and respondent bias. It is assumed that a long and trusting relationship between a researcher and respondent gives the respondents less opportunity to deceive and is therefore less likely to withhold information and lie. Plus, lengthy interviews or follow-up interviews with the same respondent enables the researcher to detect distortion or the respondent to disclose socially undesirable truths. However, there are drawbacks to prolonged engagement as lengthy engagement can lead to bias if the researcher over-identifies with the respondent and lose his or her objective, analytic stance, or own sense of identity. The term for this narrative is going native. Notwithstanding, qualitative studies that lack prolonged engagement should be viewed with caution as some authors think that because qualitative inquiries emphasizes flexibility, the label ‘qualitative’ means ‘anything goes’. The most common example occurs when a researcher thinks that one brief open- ended interview with each respondent is satisfactory (Rubin & Babbie, 2009, p.233). Another decisive factor in whether the qualitative research report provides sufficient detail about the study’s contexts and participants is to enable readers in other situations to determine if the findings seem likely to apply to the contexts or populations with which they are concerned. Researchers using qualitative observation must fuse two paradoxical perspectives. The first is the emic perspective in which they attempt to adopt the beliefs, attitudes, and other points of view shared by the members of the culture being studied. The second is the etic perspective which means maintaining objectivity as an outsider and raising questions about the culture being observed that would not occur to members of that culture (Rubbin & Babbin, 2009).
In conclusion, it is true that many people dislike the thought of researching, yet it is also true that once research is initiated, it can be become addictive as the researchers thirst for knowledge is awakened. It is a positive attribute that quantitative research engages with hard-to-reach populations and offers insight in extremely complex and often hidden social problems. It gives oppressed populations a voice that can pave the way for social inclus