THE NATURE OF

QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH
LECTURE 17
WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?

“Qualitative research aims to generate deep

insights concerning particular topics, and it
does this through a considered engagement
with places and social actors” (Bryman et
al., 2022: 279),
WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?

Qualitative research (QR) tends towards an inductive view of the relationship between
theory and research, with the former (theory) generated from the latter (research).
QR is broadly interpretivist in nature, meaning that it tries to generate an understanding
of the social world by examining how its participants interpret it (epistemological
position).
QR has an ontological position we can describe as constructionist, in that social
properties are seen as outcomes of the interactions between individuals, rather than
phenomena that are ‘out there’ and separate from those involved in constructing them.
DATA COLLECTION METHODS IN QUALITATIVE
RESEARCH

The main methods of data collection

associated with QR are:
• Ethnography/participant observation
• Qualitative interviewing
• Focus groups
• The collection of texts and documents
THE MAIN PREOCCUPATIONS OF QUALITATIVE
RESEARCHERS
Five common concerns of qualitative researchers:
• Seeing through the eyes of those being studied (a postmodernist stance – read Key Concept 14.1
What is postmodernism? Bryman et al., 2022: 282));
• Providing full descriptions and emphasising context;
• The importance of process in social life;
• Prioritising flexibility;
• Grounding concepts and theory in data.
• What are the weaknesses of qualitative research?