Ethonographers are somewhat like Detectives

"It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one has to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts."
-Sherlock Holmes (A Scandal in Bohemia)

I first saw this quote on a PowerPoint slide discussing Crime Scene Investigations. It displays a key idea that law enforcement must keep in mind if it wants to do its job effectively.

This is not unlike the job of the ethnographer. In qualitative research, of course, we go into a "project" with some theories in mind, but I would argue that it is critical to not get so hung up on one theory that we overlook other possibilities. Anyone can twist the facts to push them into a theory, but this is not the sign of a truly skilled person. Also, this is unnatural. Think about trying to fit a puzzle piece into the incorrect spot. It may somewhat fit the spot, but upon putting the piece in, we feel that it is too tight. As a child, I would just keep trying to push that piece in. My mom taught me that life doesn't work like that, and in order to get by, I would need to change my strategy rather than the materials in front of me.

To wrap up:
When detectives get hooked on a theory before looking at all of the facts, they can make (sometimes) fatal flaws. Once these flaws are found, if someone has been convicted, their entire career goes down the drain.

Likewise, if a qualitative researcher gets too stuck on one theory for his or her research, they will produce findings that do not adequately fit the situation at hand, and their credibility may be damaged.