• Home
• About
  • Acknowledgements
  • About the Author
  • Purpose
  • For Instructors
  • What is Qualitative Research
  • Ethics
  • Ethnicity and Race
• Interviewing
  • Characteristics of Good Interviews
    • Narrative Rich Data
    • Descriptive Data
    • First Hand Accounts
    • Emotions as Data
  • The Complexity of Rich Data
    • The Complexity of Memory
    • Simplifications as a Source of Contradiction
    • The Use of Negative Cases and Unexpected Findings
  • Phrasing Questions and Other Techniques
    • Avoid Yes/No Questions
    • Avoid ”Multiple-choice“ and Double-barreled Questions
    • Don’t Switch Topics Too Frequently
    • Avoid the ‘Why‘ Question
    • Avoid Asking for Little Known Facts
    • Avoid Imposing Concepts
    • Avoid Leading Questions
    • Listen Attentively
    • Ask About Sensitive Issues Skillfully
    • Adjust Questions to the Respondent’s Situation
    • Ask for Clarification
    • Ask Open-ended Questions
    • Ask the Respondent to Tell a Story
    • Ask Questions to Elicit the Personal Voice
  • Field Notes
  • Conventions for Transcribing Interviews
• Reflexivity
  • Process of Reflection
  • Conceptual Baggage
    • Married Women’s Occupation
    • Ethnic Assimilation
    • The Heterosexual Nuclear Family
  • The Research Relationship
• Analysis
  • Introduction
  • Finding a Focus
  • Possible Research Topics
  • Open Coding
  • Focused Coding
  • Developing an Analytical Lens
  • Memoing
  • Formulating the Research Question
  • Using the Literature
  • Drafting the Research Paper
  • Revising the Draft
• Data
  • Selection of Respondents
  • The Interview Archive

What is Qualitative Research?

The word "qualitative" in "qualitative research" refers qualities in the data that may relate to its numerical dimensions, but are not reducible to numbers. Although counting may play a part, qualitative research methods involve interpretive analysis and proceed from a different logic than quantitative research methods.

	Quantitative Research	Qualitative Research
Form of Data	Numerical: frequencies, averages, distributions and other statistics	Words and images: particularly field notes and interview transcripts
Type of Logic	Deductive: data are analyzed to confirm or refute pre-existing theoretical hypotheses	Inductive: data are analyzed to generate new theoretical concepts and insights
Goal of Research	Testing hypotheses about the relationships between variables. Of particular importance is to find evidence of correlation between variables, which could indicate causation.	Understanding the research setting from the perspective of its members by interpreting meanings, themes and motifs that arise in interviews and other interaction.
Research Concepts	Variables are selected for investigation at the outset of the research. One or more measurable indicators are selected to operationalize (quantify) each variable. Indicators are measured in a systematic way.	Initial research concepts are provisional. Research concepts gradually emerge from the data as the researcher becomes immersed in the setting or interviews.
Sample Size	To make statistical generalizations sufficiently large numbers of people must be selected to ensure that the sample is representative of the larger population.	To make an in-depth examination of a group or setting the sample need not be large.
Research Techniques	Standardized, scientific.	Non-standardized, considered a craft.
Role of the Researcher	Considered objective. Influence on the results of the research is minimized.	Acknowledgement of researcher's role in the creation of knowledge. Results include analysis of how the researcher's social characteristics shape topic selection, observational processes, relationships and interpretation.

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«For Instructors Ethics»

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