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    Qualitative Research

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    Inggy Yuliani P , MPd.
    Qualitative research aims to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior by using methods like interviews and focus groups rather than quantitative measurements. It seeks to understand meanings, concepts, and descriptions in people's own words. Two common qualitative research paradigms are phenomenology, which studies people's subjective experiences, and ethnography, which observes an entire culture through participant observation. Data collection involves sustained contact with participants through interviews and observation. Qualitative research explores attitudes, experiences, and behaviors through rich description rather than numbers, and reaches smaller sample sizes than quantitative research.

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    Qualitative Research

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    Inggy Yuliani P , MPd.
    4K views7 pages
    Qualitative research aims to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior by using methods like interviews and focus groups rather than quantitative measurements. It seeks to understand meanings, concepts, and descriptions in people's own words. Two common qualitative research paradigms are phenomenology, which studies people's subjective experiences, and ethnography, which observes an entire culture through participant observation. Data collection involves sustained contact with participants through interviews and observation. Qualitative research explores attitudes, experiences, and behaviors through rich description rather than numbers, and reaches smaller sample sizes than quantitative research.

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    Qualitative research aims to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior by using methods like interviews and focus groups rather than quantitative measurements. It seeks to understand meanings, concepts, and descriptions in people's own words. Two common qualitative research paradigms are phenomenology, which studies people's subjective experiences, and ethnography, which observes an entire culture through participant observation. Data collection involves sustained contact with participants through interviews and observation. Qualitative research explores attitudes, experiences, and behaviors through rich description rather than numbers, and reaches smaller sample sizes than quantitative research.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    4K views7 pages

    Qualitative Research

    Uploaded by

    Inggy Yuliani P , MPd.
    Qualitative research aims to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior by using methods like interviews and focus groups rather than quantitative measurements. It seeks to understand meanings, concepts, and descriptions in people's own words. Two common qualitative research paradigms are phenomenology, which studies people's subjective experiences, and ethnography, which observes an entire culture through participant observation. Data collection involves sustained contact with participants through interviews and observation. Qualitative research explores attitudes, experiences, and behaviors through rich description rather than numbers, and reaches smaller sample sizes than quantitative research.

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    of 7
    At a glance
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    The key takeaways are that qualitative research aims to understand human behavior and the social world in more depth than just what, where and when. It seeks to understand meanings, concepts and reasons behind why things are the way they are.

    Qualitative research uses in-depth interviews, focus groups or questionnaires to collect and analyze non-numerical data by observing what people do and say. It reports on meanings, concepts and descriptions.

    The main qualitative research paradigms discussed are phenomenology, which studies meanings of everyday experiences, and ethnography, which studies entire cultures through participant observation.

    QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

    INTRODUCTION
    There are broadly two approaches of research: quantitative research and
    qualitative research. Quantitative research was originated in the natural
    sciences such as biology, chemistry, physics, geology etc. and was
    concerned with investigating things which we could observe and measure in
    some way. Such observations and measurements can be made objectively
    and repeated by other researchers.

    Qualitative research was related to the social sciences: psychology,


    sociology, anthropology etc. They were interested in studying human
    behavior and the social world inhabited by human beings. The research
    attempts to increase our understanding of why things are, the way they are
    in our social world, and why people act the ways they do.
    The aim of qualitative research is to gather an in-depth understanding
    of human behavior and, not just what, where, when.
    (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/qualitative_methods , accessed 22nd March
    2009)
    The further discussion on qualitative research characteristics, the
    theoretical underpinning, the paradigm, the data collection, the advantages
    and the comparison between qualitative and quantitative will be elaborated
    as follows.

    WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?


    Qualitative research uses individual in-depth interviews, focus groups or
    questionnaires to collect analyze and interpret data by observing what
    people do and say. It reports on the meanings, concepts, definitions,
    characteristics, metaphors, symbols and descriptions of things. It is more
    subjective than quantitative research and is often exploratory and open-
    ended. Small numbers of people are interviewed in-depth and/or a relatively
    small number of focus groups are conducted. (Holliday: 2007)
    (http://www.nhs.uk , accessed 22nd March 2009)

    1
    Qualitative research involves the studied use and collection of a variety of
    empirical materials, such as case study; personal experiences;
    introspection; life story; interview; artifacts; cultural text and productions;
    observational, historical, interactional, and visual texts that describe routine
    and problematic moments and meanings in individuals’
    lives.(Denzin&Lincoln:2003)
    Qualitative research is concerned with developing explanations of social
    phenomena. That is to say, it aims to help us to understand the world in which
    we live and why things are the way they are. According to Beverley (1998), it is
    concerned with the social aspects of our world and seeks to answer questions
    about:
    • Why people behave the way they do

    • How opinions and attitudes are formed

    • How people are affected by the events that go on around them

    • How and why cultures have developed in the way they have

    • The differences between social groups

    QUALITATIVE PARADIGM

    A paradigm is a loose collection of logically related assumptions, concepts,


    or propositions that orient thinking and research. When we refer to a
    theoretical orientation or theoretical perspectives, we are talking about a

    2
    way of looking at the world, the assumptions people have about what is
    important and what makes the world work.

    Phenomenological

    Researchers in the phenomenological mode attempt to understand the


    meaning of events and interactions to ordinary people in particular
    situations. What phenomenologist emphasizes, then, are the subjective
    aspects of people’s behavior. (Bogdan&Biklen: 1992)

    Ethnography

    The ethnographic approach to qualitative research comes largely from the


    field of anthropology. It is based on observational work in particular setting.
    (Silverman: 2005) The emphasis in ethnography is on studying an entire
    culture. The most common ethnographic approach is participant
    observation as a part of field research (Fraenkel&Wallen: 1993). The
    ethnographer becomes immersed in the culture as an active participant and
    records extensive field notes.
    Field Research
    The essential idea of field research is that the researcher goes "into the
    field" to observe the phenomenon in its natural state. As such, it is probably
    most related to the method of participant observation. The field researcher
    typically takes extensive field notes which are subsequently coded and
    analyzed in a variety of ways. (Trochim: 2006)
    Grounded Theory
    The self-defined purpose of grounded theory is to develop theory about
    phenomena of interest. But this is not just abstract theorizing they're talking
    about. Instead the theory needs to be grounded or rooted in observation.
    The research using grounded theory seeks to produce theory: a set of
    interrelated categories that describe or explain some phenomenon.
    (Travers: 2001)
    3
    DATA COLLECTION
    Qualitative approaches to data collection usually involve direct interaction
    with individuals on a one to one basis or in a group setting. Data collection
    methods are time consuming and consequently data is collected from
    smaller numbers of people than would usually be the case in quantitative
    approaches such as the questionnaire survey. The benefits of using these
    approaches include richness of data and deeper insight into the phenomena
    under study.(Beverley:1998).The main methods of collecting qualitative
    data are: individual interviews, focus groups and observation.
    Data is usually collected through sustained contact with people in the
    settings where they normally spend their time. Participant observations and
    in-depth interviewing are the two most common ways to collect data. "The
    researcher enters the world of the people he or she plans to study, gets to
    know, be known, and trusted by them, and systematically keeps a detailed
    written record of what is heard and observed. This material is supplemented
    by other data such as, artifacts, school memos and records, newspaper
    articles, and photographs (Bogdan & Biklen: 2006).
    Fraenkel and Norman(1993) in their book also states about in – depth
    interview and the written record :” The researcher is continually observing
    people, events, and occurrence ,often supplementing his or her
    observations with in-depth interviews of selected participants and the
    examination of various documents and records relevant to the phenomenon
    interest.”

    QUALITATIVE VS QUANTITAVE
    Qualitative research explores attitudes, behavior and experiences

    through such methods as interviews or focus groups. It attempts to get an

    in-depth opinion from participants. As it is attitudes, behavior and

    experiences which are important, fewer people take part in the research,

    but the contact with these people tends to last a lot longer.

    4
    Quantitative research generates statistics through the use of large-scale

    survey research, by using methods such as questionnaires or structured

    interviews. This type of research reaches many more people, but the

    contact with those people is much quicker than it is in qualitative

    research.(http://www.googleads.g.doubleclick.net ,accessed 30th March

    2009)

    Quantitative research methods are concerned with empirical research; the

    hallmark of quantitative is measurement and quantification. (Connole,

    Smith&Wiseman:1990). Qualitative research methods on the other hand are

    not. Qualitative research is most likely same as interpretive approach. Miles

    and Huberman (1984) as cited from Connole, Smith& Wiseman(1990) used

    the term ‘qualitative’ to apply to research when ‘the data concerned appear

    in words rather than in number.’ Strauss and Corbin (1990) defined that

    Qualitative research:”any kind of research that produces findings not

    arrived at by means of statistical procedures or other means of

    quantification.” (Cited from: Hoepfl, 1997)

    Qualitative methods can be described as being, “soft”, speculative, flexible

    and subjective. The data collected have been termed soft, that is, rich in

    description of people, places and conversation, and not easily handled by

    statistical procedures. We may say that Quantitative methods are “hard”,

    hypothesis testing, fixed, value-free and objective. (Bogdan&Biklen: 2006),

    (Holliday: 2007)

    In qualitative research, data samples are usually not collected through


    random selection but rather purposive reasoning, which is to say they are
    chosen for how well they typify the characteristics of a certain class. The
    researcher's role in interpreting the meaning of data is more centralized in

    5
    the qualitative approach than it is in quantitative methods, which ideally
    seek to make purely empirical observations devoid of perspective.
    (Flamand: 2009)

    CONCLUSION
    Quantitative and qualitative research methods are very different methods of
    research. Quantitative researchers seek to provide answers in a balanced
    scientific way; they do not make assumptions from their findings.
    Qualitative researchers aim to evaluate things as they stand, in an attempt
    to look at a lifelike picture, providing a “deeper” understanding. The fact
    that qualitative research is not a ‘hard science’ leaves it open to criticism
    from quantitative researchers. In my opinion neither methods is superior.
    Both when carried out correctly provide good research. As Silverman (2006)
    stated that “No method of research, quantitative or qualitative, is
    intrinsically better than any other.”
    REFERENCES

    Beverley, Hancock.1998.An Introduction to Qualitative Research. Trent


    Focus Group,UK.
    Bogdan, C.Robert & Biklen, K.Sari.2006. Qualitative Research for
    Education: An Introduction to Theories and Methods. Pearson,
    Allyn and Bacon, Boston.
    Connole, H., Smith, B., Wiseman, R.1990.Research Methodology 1:
    Issues and Methods in Research. Deakin University,Victoria,
    Australia.
    Denzin,K.Norman&Lincoln,S.Yvonna.2003.Collecting and Interpreting
    Qualitative Materials.SAGE Publications,Inc. Thousand Oak,
    London, New Delhi.
    Fraenkel, R.Jack&Wallen, E.Norman.1993.How to Design and Evaluate
    Research in Education. Mcgraw-hill.Inc.
    Flamand, Lee.2009.What is Qualitative Research. Available at
    http://wwww.wisegeek.com

    6
    Free article & Tutorial.2008. The Difference between Qualitative and
    Quantitative Research. Available at
    http://googleads.g.doubleclick.net
    Hoepfl, C., Marie.1997. Choosing Qualitative Research: A Primer for
    Technology Education Researchers.
    http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/journals/JTE/v9nl/hoepfl.html
    Holliday, Adrian. 2007. Doing and writing Qualitative research second
    edition. SAGE Publication Ltd. London
    Key,P.James.1997. Research Design in Occupational Education.
    Available at http://www.okstate.edu
    Silverman, David.2005. Doing Qualitative Research. SAGE Publication,
    London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi.

    Travers, Max. 2001. Qualitative Research Through Case Studies.


    SAGE PublicationsLtd. London ,Thousand Oak, New Delhi.
    Trochim,MK.,William.2006.Qualitative Approaches. Available at
    http://www.socialresearchmethods.net
    Web Center for Social Research Method. 2009.Qualitative Approaches.
    Available at http://www.socialresearchmethods.net

    Wikipedia.2009.Qualitative Research. Available at


    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/qualitative_methods

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