Qualitative Research
Qualitative research: Understanding reality as constructed by individuals
Multiple realities due to individual context, background, values
Personal bias present in interpretations
Natural gap in understanding between researcher and participant
Interaction through observation or participation to minimize gap
Importance of quoting directly from participants
Reflexivity to avoid imposing own ideas
Story evaluated for trustworthiness based on human experiences
Inductive method for drawing concepts
Qualitative research as an in-depth inquiry using narratives
Naturalistic inquiry conducted in natural settings
Need for rapport, familiarity with environment and phenomenon
Philosophical Assumptions and Definition of Qualitative Research
Qualitative research embodies a way of thinking and understanding (Creswell 1998). It looks at reality as constructed by individuals. Different people have different understandings of one and the same thing. This is due to their individual context, background, personality, values, and guiding principles in life. Each understanding constitutes the reality of the individual. Thus, there are only multiple realities. In research, the story told by the participants can be interpreted in the context of how the researcher understands it. Further, the story as retold by the researcher will likewise be understood according to the perspective of the reader. This implies two things. First, personal bias is always present in every interpretation; hence, it is not value-free. Second, there is a natural distance or gap in understanding between the researcher and the participant due to difference in perspective. The gap can be minimized by interacting through observation, or participation in the context of the participants or their natural setting over a period of time. Likewise, it will enable the researcher to have enough data to describe with authority the experience of the participants. There is also a need to quote directly from the source or participants to make any interpretation as close as possible to the experience. It is important to constantly check oneself for possible imposition of own ideas or opinions on what the participants are saying or what is known as reflexivity. In the end, the resulting story is a combination of the experiences of the participants and how the researcher describes them. In the description, the researcher is free to use the first-person pronoun "I." This means that the researcher is the one retelling the story for other people to read.
The story is evaluated in terms of its trustworthiness. In the level of human experience, the story resonates with the experiences of other people who have encountered the same phenomenon in their lives.
The interpretation of the accounts of the experiences of the participants serves as the basis for drawing concepts. This process is known as inductive method. It is a process since the concepts are developed further until they are refined. This is the reason for calling qualitative research as an emerging design. It starts with general questions. Upon getting the initial information, the questions are further refined to include the details of the phenomenon being studied as experienced by the participants. From these assumptions, qualitative research can be defined as an in-depth inquiry that builds a rich and holistic picture of a central phenomenon using narratives that are based on observation and the meanings of the experiences of people in their natural settings.
General Characteristics of Qualitative Research
Qualitative research can be characterized primarily as naturalistic inquiry (Praenkel and Wallen 2007). The study is conducted in the natural setting where the people involved in the study lived. The situation can unfold and emerge spontaneously in the same way as when there is no study being conducted. This characteristic presupposes the need for rapport with the people, familiarity with the environment, as well as the phenomenon.
It is also holistic. The phenomenon is approached in its entirety and with all its complexities like how it is in life as lived. Every aspect of it as may be recounted by the people involved is included. The complexities give the nuances and a unique character to every experience. This is what is sought after every experience to be able to describe the phenomenon as if it were happening or present each time the account is read. In the parlance of qualitative research, it is known as thick description (Ritchie, Lewis, Nicholls, and Ormston 2013).
The focus of qualitative research is always the perspective of the people involved in the study. The story as told by the participants will always be the center of analysis. In as much as it is impossible to attain pure objectivity, the researcher takes on the task of self-introspection to know how much personal opinion and bias are injected into the interpretation and description of the phenomenon being studied. This manifests the value of the story and respect for the participants who are considered coequal with the researcher and not a subject for a closely watched and controlled study.
Qualitative research employs inductive approach. This characteristic emphasizes the importance of data over predetermined theory. Since it is inductive, the study capitalizes on the experiences of the participants regarding the phenomenon being investigated. The experiences are categorized and interpreted which will eventually form a theory or the essence of the phenomenon.
The design is fluid and emerging. The process of data gathering and analysis dictates how the study proceeds in the effort to exhaustively capture the phenomenon. It facilitates gathering detailed information and discovery of new areas of interest.
Qualitative research is naturalistic inquiry
Qualitative research is holistic
Qualitative research focuses on the perspective of the people involved
Qualitative research employs an inductive approach
Qualitative research design is fluid and emerging
Naturalistic inquiry
Holistic approach
Focus on participants' perspective
Inductive approach
Fluid and emerging design
Strengths and Limitations of Qualitative Research
One of the general feelings that one gets in the conduct of qualitative research is its being humane. First, the participants are not subjected or restrained by certain conditions. Their participation is spontaneous and free. The presence of the researcher may influence their answers at a certain point. But with proper and prolonged exposure, the participants can loosen up and be freer to relate their own story on the phenomenon being investigated. Second, there are no major adjustments on the part of the participants as they are engaged in their own natural settings.
In qualitative research, the phenomenon is taken as a whole unit. It is examined in context and as lived. The natural interconnection between and among different factors are retained as they are in life. Thus, the account of the phenomenon as experienced by the participants manifests fidelity to the actual experience.
Another strength of qualitative research is the detailed and in-depth treatment of the study. The aim is always to exhaust or saturate the possible information that can be obtained on the topic to create among the readers the feeling of being there in the actual situation. The subtleties and complexities are likewise discovered (Anderson 2010).
Qualitative research necessitates introspection and self-reflection. The researcher regularly monitors possible personal biases or preferences that may be injected to the story This is an effort to be faithful to how the participants mean with what they say. It is one way to show not only rigor but also respect for the participants. The process of introspection lets the researcher realize that he/she is very much part in providing the content of the story
The emerging design of qualitative research inspires creativity and discovery Guided only with general direction in the form of research questions, the final form of the goal is yet to be unfolded. There is a lot of space to uncover that calls for creativity in methodology to draw necessary information that would contribute to the goal. Each new information obtained becomes a condition for what is to come
Given the rigor in doing qualitative research, what can be considered as its limit would be the amount of time spent on each stage. Data gathering alone demands the use of multiple methodologies which consumes a lot of time, Further, the voluminous data that will be generated takes a while to organize and analyze
Choosing to do qualitative research demands technical and personal preparation too. Each type of qualitative research design has a story to tell in terms of philosophical underpinnings and the manner on how it is conducted. Though there is flexibility on how each is carried out, a degree of familiarization is needed to do justice to the design being used The constant monitoring of personal biases can be challenging as it demands a lot of sell- introspection. Added to it is the amount of work in gathering and processing data that requires patience and perseverance
Another limit is the fact that it is difficult to generalize to the greater population the findings of this kind of research (Anderson 2010). Despite the possibility of being able to resonate with the experiences of the phenomenon in question, it can hardly be applied to the whole population. However, this does not take the credit of what qualitative research can do with an individual or a group of people who have experienced the same phenomenon but in a different context.
Strengths of Qualitative Research:
Detailed and in-depth treatment of the study
Phenomenon is examined as a whole unit
Necessitates introspection and self-reflection
Inspires creativity and discovery
Participants are not subjected to certain conditions
Limitations of Qualitative Research:
Difficulty in generalizing findings to the greater population
Time-consuming data gathering and analysis
Requires technical and personal preparation
Presence of researcher may influence participant responses
Challenging to monitor personal biases