Qualitative Research

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Qualitative research

Qualitative research

a type of social science research that collects and works with non-numerical data and that seeks to interpret meaning from these data that help understand social life through the study of targeted populations or places (Crossman, 2020)

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No. of Characteristics of Qualitative Research

Human understanding and interpretation

-data analysis

Active, powerful and forceful

- data gathering

- rephrasing interview questions

Multiple research approaches and methods

- allows you to plan your study

- being multi-method research

Specificity to generalization

- specific ideas will lead to generalizations or conclusions

Contextualization

- context or situation of individual’s life

Diversified data in real-life situations

- collecting data in a natural setting

Abounds with words and visuals

- presenting people’s view in a picture, video, drawing or graphs

Internal analysis

- examining the data yielded by the internal traits of the subject person

1. It adopts a naturalistic approach to its subject matter.

2. Promotes a full understanding of human behavior/personality traits in their natural setting.

3. It is instrumental for positive societal changes.

4. It engenders respect for people’s individuality.

5. It is a way of understanding & interpreting social interactions.

6. Increases researcher’s interests in the study.

7. Offers multiple ways of acquiring and examining knowledge about something.

Strengths of Qualitative Research

1. It involves a lot of researcher’s subjectivity in data analysis.

2. It is hard to know the validity/reliability of the data.

3. Its open-ended questions yield “data overload” that requires long-time analysis.

4. It is time-consuming.

5. It involves several processes, whose results greatly depend on the researcher’s views or interpretations.

Weaknesses of Qualitative Research

-Ethnography

-Grounded Theory

-Narrative Inquiry

-Phenomenology

-Case Study

Types of Qualitative Research

Ethnography

-refers to the direct description of the group, culture or community

-looks into cultural-phenomenom and the behavior of people as the situations occurs.

Grounded Theory

-is an approach that generates a theory. It aims to develop a theory directly based and grounded in the data collected by the researcher.

-social processes and the complexity of social life. Translates and discover new understanding of human behavior.

Phenomenology

Is an approach that focuses on the subjective experience of the individual and seeks to understand the essence or structure of the phenomenon from the perspective of those who have experienced them. Lived experiences of the individuals around a phenomenon Looks into the essence of experiencing a phenomenon

Narrative Report

designed to present things or events that have happened in the past through a logical progression of the relevant information. The main purpose of a narrative report is to present a factual depiction of what has occurred.

Case Study

Is a long time study of a person, group, organization, or a situation and an empirical inquiry that investigates a current phenomenon Example: “Teenage Pregnancy in Public High Schools”

Historical Analysis

is a qualitative method where there is an examining of past events to draw conclusions and make predictions about the future.

Example: “The Impact of Ferdinand Marcos’ Speech”

Biography

the study of an individual’s life and struggles and how they reflect cultural themes of the society.

-it deals with an interesting story found in documents and archival materials. It is concerned with the reconstruction of life histories and the constitution of meaning based on biographical narratives and documents.

-Scholarly Chronicles

-Intellectual Biography

-Life History Writing

-Memoir Biography

-Narrative Biography

Common types of biography

Scholarly Chronicles

focuses on the historical portrayal of an individual life.

Ex. “Biography of Gloria M. Arroyo, the First Woman President of the Philippines”

Intellectual Biography

narrative of a life through the conceptual analysis of the subject’s motives and beliefs within the world of ideas.

Ex. “Life and Works of Dr. Jose Rizal”

Life History Writing

recording of life memories, experiences, whether one’s or another’s.  Ex. “The Hardships of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW’s)”

Memoir Biography

stylistic presentation of the biographer’s reflections and insights in relation to the factual account of life.  Ex. “The Experiences of Stranded Students in the COVID-19 Pandemic”

Narrative Biography

a nonfiction account of life experiences of a person.

The Importance of Qualitative Research Across Fields of Inquiry

Qualitative research is an emerging area of inquiry that graces through disciplines and subject matter. However, it's also essential to recognize that qualitative research is a method generally used in the social sciences searching social interactions, schemes and processes. It delivers a detailed appreciation of the ways people come to understand and achieve their daily life in particular situations.

Basic Research Approaches in a Specific Area of Discipline

-Scientific or Positive Approach

-Naturalistic Approach

-Triangulation/ Mixed Method

-Interactive interviewing

-Written descriptions by participant

-Observation

Main Methods of Data Collection

Hard Science

Physics, Biology, Astronomy, Chemistry, Earth Science

Soft Science

Psychology, Sociology, Political Science, Economics, Anthropology, History