Knowing about your approach is essential before conducting a qualitative study. The second thing you need to know is how you plan to collect the research.
We refer to these as research methods.
Notably, there are significant differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods.
In qualitative research, researchers typically select one or more design approaches that align with their topic.
Understanding qualitative research offers valuable insights into how people think and feel about products or services.
In this article, we delve into the significance of qualitative research, its applications, advantages, and explore nine distinct types of qualitative research.
Qualitative Research
The goal of qualitative research is to understand people’s subjective experiences. It makes use of nonprobability sampling, which involves asking open-ended questions with no predetermined assumptions. Through a process of coding based on themes and patterns that arise from this study, researchers examine the data they gather.
Qualitative research methods change depending on the data collection techniques used by researchers. Focus groups, interviews, and observation are a few examples. These techniques aid in the collection of data regarding participants’ opinions, emotions, and perceptions regarding an issue or problem under investigation
8 Qualitative Research Designs and Research Methods
1. Historical Study
A historical study is ideal for exploring past events, people, and documents in-depth. Its purpose is to derive insights about the present and future based on research from the past.
This approach relies on adequate interview sources and historical documents. It’s crucial to validate data accuracy and locate primary sources. Depending on the researcher’s objectives, this type of study may lead to a biography, which is why “historical study” is sometimes synonymous with “biographical study.”
Historical studies involve the identification, evaluation, and synthesis of data from the past. This type of research helps researchers comprehend the reasons behind past events and their impacts, aiding in predicting future trends or gaining deeper insights into history.
Data for historical research can be sourced from various documents and artifacts, including books, newspapers, older texts, letters, and relics.
These sources can be categorized as primary or secondary.
Primary sources offer direct information or evidence from the time period, while secondary sources provide indirect information related to the past.
2. Grounded Theory
Grounded Theory aims to develop a theory related to a social issue by exploring how people perceive and handle problems within that context.
Unlike other qualitative approaches, Grounded Theory relies entirely on the data collected during the research process. The initial research question often evolves and becomes more refined as more information is gathered, with participants actively shaping the study through their contributions.
Grounded theory is a qualitative research method that involves systematically reviewing existing data to formulate theories about the reasons behind events.
This method employs both inductive and deductive approaches to theory development. Instead of relying on probability sampling, researchers use purposeful sampling to select participants who can offer new perspectives on the phenomenon being studied.
3. Case study
Case studies are a widely used qualitative research design focused on examining individuals, groups, communities, or institutions. Researchers often employ a bounded theory approach, limiting the study in terms of time or space.
Data collection in a case study may involve multiple sources like observation, interviews, and documents. Participants selected for the study must share a common factor related to the research question or subject. After gathering data, researchers analyze it to uncover common themes or significant patterns.
Case studies are in-depth examinations of individuals or groups of people. They support researchers in comprehending the background, methods, and results of an intervention.
Researchers can also gain a better understanding of the changing process throughout time and the cause-and-effect relationships between variables by using case studies.
For a case study to be considered qualitative research, the researcher must focus on the significance of the respondents’ experiences. After that, they assess the case study data using content analysis.
4. Action Research
Action research involves the researcher actively participating in a situation, collecting data, analyzing it, and adjusting the study based on findings. This process is iterative and collaborative between the researcher and participants, occurring at various levels such as individual, group, or community.
Action research is suitable for understanding how something functions in its natural environment. For instance, if you aim to grasp the challenges people face when using technology at work, collaborating with different teams to study this issue would be an appropriate application of action research.
5. Narrative research
Narrative research is a widely used qualitative method that delves into how people live and make decisions. It involves tracking subjects as they progress through different study stages to gather data about their experiences. This method is valuable for creating buyer personas in businesses based on these narratives.
Researchers delve into participants’ experiences, capturing information on their attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors in specific situations. This approach allows for data collection from multiple sources simultaneously, aiding in identifying themes or patterns. Narrative research entails collecting and sharing participants’ stories, often through questions like:
- Why was this important?
- What was happening?
- What did you do next?
- How did it feel?
6. Focus groups
Focus groups play a crucial role in qualitative research by providing insights into people’s attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs regarding a specific topic. Typically, focus groups involve moderators facilitating discussions with a small group of participants (around eight to 12) over several sessions.
For instance, in a scenario where a beverage company plans to launch a new energy drink brand, they may organize focus groups with participants of diverse ages and backgrounds.
These participants would taste the drink over multiple sessions, allowing researchers to observe their reactions and conduct follow-up interviews to gather detailed feedback. This approach helps researchers understand how the new drink is perceived in comparison to existing market options.
7. Phenomenology
Phenomenology is a comprehensive research approach where the focus is on understanding how individuals experience a phenomenon and their subjective feelings about it. This model acknowledges that there’s no singular objective reality; rather, everyone perceives and experiences things differently.
The results of phenomenological research are described from the participants’ perspectives. Nonetheless, the researcher can still extract findings that help identify key themes related to the phenomenon being studied.
The phenomenological method is a qualitative research technique aimed at understanding the meaning individuals attribute to their experiences. It employs the phenomenological inquiry method, which emphasizes how individuals experience events.
Phenomenological researchers prioritize subjective understanding and biases, focusing on what individuals express about themselves rather than providing objective interpretations of their statements. This approach enables researchers to gain a deeper understanding of people’s experiences.
8. Ethnographic research
Ethnography involves studying a particular group within a culture. Researchers in this format immerse themselves in the culture they’re studying, collecting qualitative data through direct observation and interaction with participants from that culture.
The findings are presented from the participants’ perspective, aiming to gain a deep understanding of the group’s culture.
Ethnographic research is a qualitative method that centers on comprehending human behavior within specific social contexts and cultural frameworks. Ethnographers delve into cultural norms, beliefs, and practices related to a particular phenomenon.
In ethnographic research, researchers often immerse themselves in the community or society being studied, living with research subjects to gain deeper insights.
They conduct interviews with key informants who possess extensive knowledge about their roles and responsibilities within the culture.
Data collection and analysis occur concurrently, with researchers documenting their observations in field notes, which serve as raw data for subsequent analysis.
9. Observational Research
Observational research involves systematically documenting and analyzing phenomena without the researcher being embedded as a participant, unlike ethnographic research. Instead, the researcher adopts a “fly on the wall” approach.
This type of research can be overt, where participants know they’re being observed, or covert, where participants are unaware of the researcher’s presence, leading to more authentic behavior.
However, covert observation in human subject research raises ethical concerns that must be evaluated and approved by a university ethics review board.
Qualitative Data Collection Methods
Qualitative research employs various methods for data collection, often using multiple methods within a single study:
- Interviews: Researchers conduct detailed face-to-face interviews with participants to gain deep insights into their experiences.
- Document Analysis: Researchers analyze print and electronic documents to extract valuable data, requiring careful scrutiny and interpretation of the document content.
- Focus Groups: Similar to interviews but involving multiple participants at once, focus groups facilitate group discussions and observations.
- Observation: This method involves keenly observing and documenting participants’ activities and behaviors to gather data.
When and how to conduct qualitative research?
Qualitative research is suitable for gaining a deep understanding of a topic from the perspective of those involved.
It helps in comprehending the meaning and importance of experiences or events and understanding their context.
Qualitative research is appropriate when:
- Investigating how people interpret events or experiences, rather than just capturing factual occurrences.
- Exploring topics that are not easily defined or quantified.
- Understanding people’s emotions and feelings about a subject, going beyond their mere opinions.
Advantages of Qualitative Research
Qualitative research offers several advantages:
- Researchers can conduct studies of varying sizes and easily adjust research plans based on new insights.
- Qualitative research delves deeply into complex phenomena from multiple viewpoints, providing rich insights compared to quantitative studies.
- Researchers have the freedom to tailor methodologies to fit research questions, including study duration, participant selection, and research methods.
- Qualitative methods prioritize understanding meaning rather than just facts and numbers, allowing participants to share perspectives without strict numerical limitations.
Conclusion
Qualitative research provides detailed and thorough analysis of phenomena, offering meaningful insights into nuanced questions that quantitative research may not address. Although it doesn’t provide population data or support future trend analysis based on numerical findings, it excels at providing meaningful answers.
These qualitative approaches can be combined with quantitative methods in mixed-methods research or used independently to generate comprehensive and rigorous information about social phenomena.