QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Major Characteristics of Qualitative Research

Naturalistic inquiry
Studying real-world situations as they unfold naturally; non-
manipulative, unobtrusive, and non-controlling; openness to whatever
emerges—lack of predetermined constraints on outcomes.
Inductive analysis
Immersion in the details and specifics of the data
to discover important categories, dimensions, and
interrelationships; begin by exploring genuinely
open questions rather than testing theoretically
derived (deductive) hypotheses
Holistic perspective
The whole phenomenon under study is understood as a
complex system that is more than the sum of its parts;
focus is on complex interdependencies not meaningfully
reduced to a few discrete variables and linear, cause-
effect relationships.
Qualitative data
Detailed, thick description; inquiry in
depth; direct quotations capturing
people‘s personal perspectives and
experiences.
Personal contact and insight
The researcher has direct contact with and gets
close to the people, situation, and phenomenon
under study; researcher‘s personal experiences
and insights are important part of the inquiry
and critical to understanding the phenomenon.
Dynamic systems
Attention to process; assumes
change is constant and ongoing
whether the focus is on an
individual or an entire culture
Unique case orientation
Assumes each case is special and unique; the first
level of inquiry is being true to, respecting, and
capturing the details of the individual cases being
studied; crosscase analysis follows from and
depends on the quality of individual case studies.
Context sensitivity
Places findings in a social, historical, and
temporal context; dubious of the possibility
or meaningfulness of generalization across
time and space
Emphatic neutrality
Complete objectivity is impossible; pure subjectivity
undermines credibility; the researcher‘s passion is
understanding the world in all its complexity – not
proving something, not advocating, not advancing
personal agenda, but understanding; the researcher
includes personal experience and empathic insight as
part of the relevant data, while taking a neutral
nonjudgmental stance toward whatever content may
emerge.
Design flexibility
Open to adapting inquiry as understanding
deepens and/or situations change; avoids
getting locked into rigid designs that eliminate
responsiveness; pursues new paths of
discovery as they emerge.
Types of Qualitative Research
Phenomenology
It is an approach to philosophy and not specifically a
method of inquiry; this has often been misunderstood.
It is first and foremost philosophy, the approach
employed to pursue a particular study should emerge
from the philosophical implications inherent in the
question.
Ethnography
It is the direct description of a group, culture or
community. Nevertheless, the meaning of the word
ethnography can be ambiguous; it is an overall term for a
number of approaches. Sometimes researchers use it as
synonymous with qualitative research in general, while at
other times it‘s meaning is more specific.
Grounded theory
It is a development of theory directly
based and grounded in the data collected
by the researcher. It is a research
methodology for discovering theory in a
substantive area.
Case Study
It is used for a research approach with specific boundaries
and can be both qualitative and quantitative. In addition, it is
an entity studied as a single unit, and it has clear confines and
a specific focus and is bound to context
Activity: Title Proposal
1.Divide the class into 2 groups.
2.Each group will decide on suitable qualitative
research in different areas of interest.
THANK YOU!!!