How can an informant’s viewpoint affect an ethnographic study?

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Svante Paabo stands smiling with one hand on a Neanderthal skeleton model in front of a blue Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology banner. — Anthropology Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology director Svante Pӓӓbo posing with a model of a Neanderthal skeleton.

In ethnography, an informant’s viewpoint can significantly influence the objectivity of a study. Because ethnographers often rely on specific individuals to explain complex cultural aspects like kinship or ritual, the selection of these informants is critical.1

The risks associated with an informant's perspective include:

Marginalization: Individuals who are most eager to act as informants are frequently marginal to their own group.1
Ulterior Motives: These individuals may provide subjective or skewed explanations due to personal motivations, such as feelings of alienation from their community or a desire to be perceived as special by the outsider.1
Subjectivity: Just as the anthropologist brings inherent cultural biases to the field, the information provided by a subject is filtered through their own unique social position and personal agenda, which can compromise the ethnographer's goal of maintaining objective detachment.1

Ultimately, because ethnography is an intersubjective process, the relationship between the researcher and the informant is a central factor that shapes the final description of a society.1