Determine whether the following describes a qualitative

research or a quantitative research.

1. The setting is controlled.

2. Questions are open-ended.
3. The approach is subjective.
4. Interviews and Focus Group Discussion are the data
collection strategies.
5. It makes use of small sample size.
 Qualitative Quantitative
1. Approach to Inquiry ____________ Objective

2. Research Setting Natural setting _________ to the degree possible

3. Sampling Purposive: Intent to select “________, ” sample Random: Intent to select “large, ” sample

4. Measurement Non-standardized, narrative Standardized, __________

5. Data Collection ______________/Focus Group discussion (un- Administration of tests and questionnaires (close
Strategies /structured, semi-structured, in-/formal). ended). Observation.
Observation.
At the end of the session, 85% of the students with 75% level
of proficiency shall be able to:

1. describe the characteristics of research;

2. value interpretivism as a feature of research; and
3. produce infographics to highlight the characteristics of qualitative
research.
Any information including graphics and other illustrations use
in this presentation are credited to their rightful owners.
Hence, the presenter/ discussant does not claim ownership
and respectfully acknowledges the sources.
Qualitative Research
- primarily an exploratory research
- used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons,
opinions, and motivations
- used to uncover trends in thought and opinions, and dive
deeper into the problem
 CHARACTERISTICS OF
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
 Applies the theories of
INTERPRETIVISM and CONSTRUCTIVISM
Interpretivism
-based on multiple realities; hence there is NO
single TRUTH
-discovers the underlying meaning;
-subjective in nature but not based on opinion
Constructivism
-learning through experiences
-collects data through communication
-to come up with a new set of data, shared
understanding of feelings and experiences is
necessary
Natural environment (natural setting)
Qualitative researchers collect field data at the
locations where participants experience the
problem or issue to be studied. Qualitative
researchers do not change the environmental
settings and activities of the participants.
Information is gathered by talking directly to people
and seeing them act directly in a natural context.
Researcher as a key instrument
Qualitative researchers generally collect their
research data through participant observation,
documentation, or direct interviews with
participants. These researchers generally do not
use instruments or questionnaires made by other
researchers, because they are the only key to the
study.
Multiple sources of data
Qualitative researchers generally
choose to collect the required data
from various sources such as
interviews, documentation, and
observations, rather than relying only
on one source data.
A holistic account
Qualitative researchers usually try to
make a complex picture of a research
issue or problem. Researchers
describe the perspectives and factors
associated with the problem as a
whole.
 STRENGTHS OF
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Flexibility
Qualitative approach offers a considerable
amount of flexibility in undertaking
research. It allows the researcher to
observe and identify other issues that
were not initially thought of or included in
the inception stage of the study.
In-depth and detailed information
Qualitative approach allows
researchers to collect more data
and information hence being in a
better position to understand the
details of the research problem.
Qualitative methods such as interviews,
observation, and open-ended questionnaires allow a
researcher to probe and seek more detailed
information. As a result, a researcher may end up
with detailed information for his or her study. This
may help results in studies to achieve data
adequacy and, therefore, effectively answer
research questions.
The use of multiple data collection tools
Involving multiple methods makes
qualitative research data more credible
since the strengths of one research
tool supplement the weaknesses of the
other.
Qualitative research can easily involve
numerous data collection methods and
therefore allowing triangulation of research
tools and data. A researcher may opt to use one
or a combination of tools such as interviews,
observations, focus group discussions, and
documentary reviews. The use of multiple tools
may allow respondents to choose a particular
tool that they are comfortable with.
Integration of human touch
In qualitative research, researchers interact with the
respondents. This allows a researcher to understand the
actual feelings and experiences of the respondents. The
magnitude of the research problem can be easily understood
through narrations from respondents. Anger, happiness,
readiness, attitudes, and perceptions of the respondents can
easily be studied and understood through qualitative means of
data collection.
Minimizing chances of missing data
In quantitative research, respondents tend to ignore some
questions that seem to be unclear, especially when a close-
ended questionnaire is used. With qualitative research, a
researcher collects data until what is considered to be
sufficient is attained. In case a respondent does not
understand a particular question, a researcher has an
opportunity to make clarifications on unclear questions or ask
the question in different ways.
Cost-effectiveness
Small samples are preferred and used in
qualitative research allowing research to be
conducted with a reduced number of financial
resources as compared to quantitative
research that requires larger sample sizes.
 WEAKNESS OF
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Overcoming the limitation of quantitative research
Qualitative research helps to answer research questions
that cannot be answered quantitatively. Understanding
exactly how people feel and experience particular
phenomena can only be done through the narration of
their own stories, which cannot be quantified. This makes
qualitative research an important approach to reveal
feelings, perceptions, attitudes, values, and beliefs of
people.
Subjectivity
Qualitative approach is generally interpretive. Researchers
have the task of interpreting what they hear, see, taste, touch,
or smell. This brings an important question of whether
individuals have the same interpretation of what they hear,
see, taste, touch, and smell. What one interprets as good or
bad is not necessarily interpreted the same way by another
person. This makes qualitative research subjective.
Limited Generalizability
Qualitative research has a limited chance
of using the findings to generalize to the
rest of the population not included in the
study.
Difficulty in enhancing anonymity
In qualitative research, attaining anonymity may be
difficult since, in collecting data, a researcher gets
into direct contact with respondents. One may
argue that respondents’ information and identities
are always protected, yet respondents may not be
comfortable offering certain information to the
researcher.
Complex data collection and analysis
procedures
Qualitative research may make the data collection process
difficult and less manageable. This could be because qualitative
data collection methods such as focus group discussions, in-
depth interviews, open-ended questionnaires, and documentary
reviews tend to leave researchers with bulk data. Analysis of
data may be difficult and complex since the researcher has to
examine collected data and retain only the relevant information.
Difficulty in replicating findings
One of the important aspects of research is the ability of the
research findings to produce similar results under the same
methods and similar circumstances. Replication in a
qualitative study is indeed challenging since people have
varied feelings, experiences, and backgrounds, and therefore
producing similar results may not be practical in some cases.
Data may be influenced by the researcher’s
bias
Direct involvement of a researcher with the respondents may
consciously or subconsciously affect collected data. Since
researchers are human beings, they may be tempted to report what did
not happen and exaggerate or understate the actual situation found in
the field. A researcher may also be sympathetic after hearing a
response from the respondents, something which may also influence
how he or she reports the findings.
Questions?
Clarifications?
1.Information is gathered by
talking directly to people and
seeing them act directly in a
natural context.
2. Collects data from various
sources such as interviews,
documentation, and observations,
rather than relying only on one
source of data
3. collects data through participant
observation, documentation, or
direct interviews with participants
and does not use instruments or
questionnaires made by other
researchers
4. describes the
perspectives and factors
associated with the problem
as a whole
5. applies the principle that
there is NO SINGLE truth,
hence a need for
interpretation is based on
facts
1. Natural setting
2. Multiple sources of data
3. Researchers as a key instrument
4. Holistic approach
5. Interpretivism
1. Difficulty in replicating findings
2. Integration of human touch
3. Complex data collection and analysis procedures
4. The use of multiple data collection tools
5. Limited Generalizability
1. W
2. S
3. W
4. S
5. W