Sociologists might choose to work under less than ideal conditions in order to obtain a realistic perspective of social issues and to more readily find ways to solve them, despite the increased level of danger in the work. As the text mentioned, purely experimental research is designed to preclude any outside factors from interfering with the variables being examined. This makes such experimental research unrealistic by nature of its design, and though it is useful for determining how two variables are related, it does not necessarily yield a practical solution to a given social issue. Thus, researchers take to the field to investigate the complicated interactions that take place in various social situations. Due to the inherent dangers of some social situations, sociologists doing participant observation research in these situations are directly immersed in the danger themselves.

This situation is both good and bad for the sociologist. It is good for the reason that genuine research can not only be conducted, but also experienced by the sociologist, but it is also dangerous for the individual researcher. This personal research allows the sociologist to observe firsthand the causes and effects of issues like alcoholism or drug addiction. In addition to experiencing the reasons for the issues, the sociologist can witness how people deal with their situations, giving them the insight of how these social issues are dealt with in everyday life. Without personally investigating such problems and merely relying on statistical data, sociologists can possess only a limited grasp on the situation and its effects on society and individual people. Although the physical being of the researcher is at stake, it is deemed by many to be worth the risk since the findings of the researcher can be used to better understand the problem and possibly find solutions, eventually helping the rest of society.