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BEST PRACTICES IN CONDUCTING QUALITATIVE RESEA RCH Qualitative research is quite hard to define, because the terms used have very little similarities with ordinary science (OConnor 2004). One attempt at definition is that of it involving methods of data collection and analysis that are non-quantitative, one that uses unreconstructed logic to get what is really real the quality, meaning, context, or images of reality in what people actually do, not what they say they do (OConnor 2004). It is said to have been developed in the social sciences to allow researchers to investigate social and cultural phenomena (Myers 1997). The use of qualitative research methods will enable the improvement of quality measures and the dissemination of quality reports. Parts of these are focus groups and interviews that are a standard part of the development of reliable survey instruments. (Sofaer, 2002). In terms of methodologies, qualitative research methodologies are said to be designed to give the researcher a good view of the audience by immersing in a culture and the direct interaction with subjects under study.
Qualitative research methodologies are said to include observations, in-depth interviews and the use of focus groups, all of them designed to aid researchers in understanding the meanings which individuals assign to social events and to look deeper into the mental processes that are implied in ones behavior. In qualitative research, hypotheses are said to be generated only during the collection and analysis of data. The results in qualitative research are said to vary greatly depending on who is conducting the research, because the interpretation of results is often subjective, and the researcher in such a method is said to be the instrument of data collection (Weinreich 2003). Other examples of qualitative research methods include the use of case studies, the clinical method, naturalistic observation, participant observation, and interviewing. Case studies include those employed by Freud in analyzing and treating patients. The clinical method includes those used by Piaget, where patients are given situations and problems to solve and the researcher documents them.
Naturalistic observation is employed by naturalists in studying animal behavior and habitat. Participant observation is one where the researcher immerses himself into a subgroup being studied. Interviewing is a method that is generally used in conjunction with the other methods. It is used as a method within the case study method and the clinical method, and many other related methods. Interviewing is said to be a deceptively difficult method in qualitative research, as the results of the method inevitably contains the biases of the interviewer. Moreover, all these methods are said to employ phenomenological methods, or methods on the study of consciousness, in one way or another (Boeree 2005).
Another source lists nine methods of qualitative research, including participant observation, case study, ethnography, photography, ethno methodology, dramaturgical interviewing, sociometry, natural experiment, unobtrusive measures, historiography, content analysis, and secondary analysis of data ( () Connor 2004). That is why qualitative research is complete, detailed description. It is recommended during the earlier phases of a research project. With regard to use, qualitative research is said to be used to generate hypotheses.
In terms of foreknowledge of results, the researcher in qualitative research only has a vague inkling or at most only has rough advance knowledge of what he or she is searching for. In qualitative research, the test design evolves as the study progresses. The researcher is the data collection tool. The data comes as words, objects, descriptions or images and pictures. In terms of data, data from qualitative research is said to be rich, time consuming, and less generalizable. Finally, qualitative research tends to bring out subjective considerations on the part of the researcher. (Neill 2004).
Qualitative methods are said to be useful at the beginning of the research process, to generally explore, discover, and unearth motivations, behaviors, preferences and relationships leading to the formulation of a set of hypotheses. The uses of qualitative research are implied in the qualitative methods used in the practice of various research fields. Case studies as a qualitative research method is useful in documenting and analyzing psychoanalytic cases en route to a diagnosis, and as a way of establishing evidence in theory formulation and validation in the case of Freud. The clinical method as used by Piaget is useful in documenting the responses of patients presented with problems to be solved and to document research outcomes necessary to build knowledge in Piaget's field. Interviewing is useful in exploring sensibilities, preferences, biases and subjective perceptions about an issue, product or event, and generally in being able to draw out responses that cannot be otherwise captured by a survey of closed questions. Interviewing, by its nature, does not lend itself to efficient yes or no responses to simple unambiguous questions.
As with the other qualitative methods, interviewing relies on rather than excludes the subjectivity of the interviewer as instrument of data collection in qualitative research (Weinreich 2003). The benefits of qualitative research are in turn implied in its uses. It can be used to explore the factors that are involved in a research undertaking before going deeper and defining the project in greater detail, and allows the researcher to consider hidden and unexplored aspects of an undertaking. Another benefit is that qualitative research allows respondents to express their thoughts in their own words, and thus enriching the language and context of the research. Finally, as already discussed above, qualitative research can be used at the start of the research project, to cover all possible bases, and as a jump off point for further research. The same study from the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion of the US Department of Health and Human Services lists the most important disadvantage of qualitative research as that of its findings not being generalizable to the larger population.
From this umbrella difficulty, the study further lists four disadvantages and difficulties of using qualitative research methods. One, participants in qualitative research studies are often not selected randomly, contributing to the observation of the findings being un generalizable. Two, the number of participants in qualitative studies are said to be too small to be representative of the general population. Three, there is no numeric data collected in such studies, so that results cannot be subjected to statistical analysis.
Four, some participants conform to social standards and thus tend to be less truthful in their responses. Five, because of the subjective nature of the research methods used and the responses collected from subjects, the quality of the data collected is often dependent on the skills of the data collector (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion n. d. ). References Boeree C.
G. 2005, Qualitative Methods, Retrieved August 24, 2007 at: web Myers M. D... n. d. , Qualitative Research in Information Systems, Retrieved August 24, 2007 at: web Neill, J. 2004. , Qualitative versus Quantitative Research, Retrieved August 24, 2007 at: web OConnor 2004, Qualitative Social Science Research Methodology, Retrieved August 24, 2007 at: web Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion n. d. , Audience Research Basics, Retrieved August 24, 2007 at: web Sofaer, S. (2002).
Qualitative research methods. International Journal for Quality in Health Care 14: 329 - 336. Retrieved August 24, 2007 at: web Woolf, N. Woolf Consulting. Best Practices: A Little Structure in Your Codes Will Make your Research a Lot Easier. Retrieved August 24, 2007 at: web Weinreich, N.
D. 2003, Integrating Quantitative and Qualitative Methods in Social Marketing Research, Retrieved August 24, 2007 at: web
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Research essay sample on Qualitative Research Research Methods
