Qualitative Research Methods

Introduction to qualitative and quantitative R.

Research is the most widely used tool to increase and brush-up the stock of
knowledge about something and someone. In the field of marketing, business,
sociology, psychology, science & technology, economics, etc. there are two standard
ways of conducting research, i.e. qualitative research or quantitative research. While
the qualitative research relies on verbal narrative like spoken or written data,
the quantitative research uses logical or statistical observations to draw conclusions.
Qualitative is an examination of variable or phenomenon in a deep comprehensive
manner. In the other wise, quantitative analysis oriented in gathering information
focuses on describing a phenomenon across a larger number of participants there by
providing the possibility of summarizing characteristics across groups or relationships
(Rhodes, 2014)
Definition of qualitative research- an approach used to gain an understanding of
underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. It provides insights into the problem
or helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research (Wyse,
2011)
Qualitative research
Qualitative research is one which provides insights and understanding of the
problem setting. It is an unstructured, exploratory research method that studies
highly complex phenomena that are impossible to elucidate with the quantitative
research. Although, it generates ideas or hypothesis for later quantitative research.
Qualitative research is used to gain an in-depth understanding of human
behaviour, experience, attitudes, intentions, and motivations, on the basis of
observation and interpretation, to find out the way people think and feel. It is a
form of research in which the researcher gives more weight to the views of the
participants. Case study, grounded theory, ethnography, historical and
phenomenology are the types of qualitative research.
Quantitative research
Quantitative research is a form of research that relies on the methods of natural
sciences, which produces numerical data and hard facts. It aims at establishing
cause and effect relationship between two variables by using mathematical,
computational and statistical methods. The research is also known as empirical
research as it can be accurately and precisely measured.
The data collected by the researcher can be divided into categories or put into
rank, or it can be measured in terms of units of measurement. Graphs and tables of
raw data can be constructed with the help quantitative research, making it easier
for the researcher to analyse the results.
 Difference between Qualitative and Quantitative Research
 Qualitative research is holistic in nature while quantitative research is particularistic.
 The qualitative research follows a subjective approach as the researcher is intimately involved,
whereas the approach of quantitative research is objective, as the researcher is uninvolved and
attempts to precise the observations and analysis on the topic to answer the inquiry.
 Qualitative research is exploratory. As opposed to quantitative research which is conclusive.
 The reasoning used to synthesise data in qualitative research is inductive whereas in the case of
quantitative research the reasoning is deductive.
 Qualitative research is based on purposive sampling, where a small sample size is selected
with a view to get a thorough understanding of the target concept. On the other hand,
quantitative research relies on random sampling; wherein a large representative sample is
chosen in order to extrapolate the results to the whole population.
 Elements used in the analysis of qualitative research are words, pictures, and objects while that
of quantitative research is numerical data.
 Qualitative Research is conducted with the aim of exploring and discovering ideas used in the
ongoing processes. As opposed to quantitative research the purpose is to examine cause and
effect relationship between variables.
 In-depth interviewing
The phrase in-depth interview conjures up the most iconic of qualitative data collection activities:
a skilled interviewer engaged in a probing conversation with a suitably knowledgeable
interviewee. Virtually all qualitative researchers use this technique to some extent, and for many
projects and researchers, in-depth interviews are the primary or sole source of data.
An interview is an important qualitative research method in which the researcher collects data
directly from the participants. Mostly paired with other research methods like survey, focus group
etc., interviews are significant in unfolding opinions, experiences, values and various other
aspects of the population under study.
Interviews are always goal oriented. With a purpose to extract the desired information from a
respondent, an interview may be conducted at numerous places like school, college, market,
home and others. Besides that, With the advent of technology, we have witnessed an increase in
the number of methods through which an interview can be conducted. Unlike earlier, now, an
interview is not mandatory a meeting.
It can be conducted over phone or Skype or mail or through various other forms of the internet
and telephone without physical presence. There are different types of interviews. An interview
may be either formal or informal. The research questions determine the method of the interview
to be conducted. There may be a business interview, job interview, TV interview, in-depth
research interview and so on.
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In-depth interviews (IdIs) are mostly long-duration, face-to-face, interviews conducted to

achieve desired goals. In-depth interview also known as one-on-one is a method of extracting
more detailed information or deep understanding of a subject or concept. Kvale (1996),
suggests two alternative positions on in-depth interviewing; "Miner Metaphor" and "Traveler
Metaphor." According to him, "Knowledge is understood as buried metal and the interviewer
is a miner who unearths the valuable metal.”
Participants in an in-depth interview are encouraged and promoted to talk in depth about the
topic under study. As in-depth interview is considered a qualitative method of data collection,
it is also called qualitative interviewing.
Being flexible and continuous, the interviewer in an in-depth interview asks the questions
orally to the interviewee and record the answers. IdIs may also be of different formats. An in-
depth interview may be semi-structured, unstructured (non-directive) or a mix of any two.
For e.g.; Coffee with Karan is an unstructured interview. It is a conversation. He may ask
anything at any time.
In-depth interviews are also called unstructured interviews. In fact, if we see, the researchers
collecting data through this method, draft very keenly a list of specific questions to be asked.
The researchers also keep in mind the areas and specific topics to be covered during the
interview.
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 Significance of the In-depth interviews are one of the most efficient methods of collecting primary
data. Unlike a simple questionnaire or rating scale, in-depth interview is conducted with an
intention of uncovering in-depth details of interviewee's experience and perspective on a subject.
Being more effective and less structured, one of the most important benefit of in-depth interview is
that it helps to uncover more detailed and in-depth information than other data collection methods
like surveys. Unlike other formats of the interview, these are intensive interviews of individuals
mostly conducted from small number of respondents. The interviewer needs to create a comfortable
environment for the respondent first and ask questions to uncover the best possible details from her.
 In-depth interviews are used to explore concepts for further investigation and descriptive analysis.
Interviewer needs to develop a relation with respondent to achieve a complete understanding of her
perspective.
 Requiring interest in and respect for people as individuals, Thompson (2000) states that in-depth
interviews are not for the people who can’t stop talking about themselves. Despite appearing
realistic, a good in-depth interview bears similarity to everyday conversation. According to Burges
(1984) and Lofland and Lofland (1995) an in-depth interview is often considered as a form of
conversation.
 Making it one of the most significant forms of data collection, not more than a total of some 10-15
people are interviewed individually in a study using an in-depth interview method of data
collection.
 Case study
Case studies are in-depth investigations of a single person, group, event or
community. Typically, data are gathered from a variety of sources and by using
several different methods (e.g. observations & interviews).
The case study research method originated in clinical medicine (the case history,
i.e. the patient’s personal history). In psychology, case studies are often confined
to the study of a particular individual.
The information is mainly biographical and relates to events in the individual's
past (i.e. retrospective), as well as to significant events which are currently
occurring in his or her everyday life.
The case study is not itself a research method, but researchers select methods of
data collection and analysis that will generate material suitable for case studies.
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According to Sturman (1997), “[a] case study is a general term for the exploration
of an individual, group or phenomenon”. Therefore, a case study is a
comprehensive description of an individual case and its analysis; i.e., the
characterization of the case and the events, as well as a description of the
discovery process of these features (Mesec 1998, p. 45).
Mesec offers a definition of a case study within the field of social work, but it
could also be applied to the field of education: A case study “is a description and
analysis of an individual or case with the purpose to identify variables, structures,
forms and orders of interaction between the participants in the situation
(theoretical purpose), or, in order to assess the performance of work or progress in
development (practical purpose)” (ibid., p. 383). He adds that one case study
could serve both purposes at the same time.
The main characteristics of the case study

1. A descriptive study
a) The data collected constitute descriptions of psychological processes and
events, and of the contexts in which they occurred (qualitative data).
b) The main emphasis is always on the construction of verbal descriptions of
behaviour or experience but quantitative data may be collected.
c) High levels of detail are provided.
2. Narrowly focused.
d) Typically a case study offers a description of only a single individual, and
sometimes about groups.
e) Often the case study focuses on a limited aspect of a person, such as their
psychopathological symptoms.
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3. Combines objective and subjective data

a) The researcher may combine objective and subjective data: All are regarded
as valid data for analysis, and as a basis for inferences within the case study.
i. The objective description of behaviour and its context
ii. Details of the subjective aspect, such as feelings, beliefs, impressions or
interpretations. In fact, a case study is uniquely able to offer a means of
achieving an in-depth understanding of the behaviour and experience of
a single individual.
4. Process-oriented.
b) The case study method enables the researcher to explore and describe the
nature of processes, which occur over time.
c) It provides a stilled ‘snapshot’ of processes, which may be continuing over
time like for example the development of language in children over time.
 Ethnography
Ethnography is a methodology with more than one hundred years of
history. Ethnography can be briefly defined as the systematic study of
people and cultures. It is designed to explore cultural phenomena where the
researcher observes society from the point of view of the subject of the
study. It is a means to represent graphically and in writing the culture of a
group.
Ethnography is a qualitative research method where researchers observe
and/or interact with a study’s participants in their real-life environment. It
was initially popular in the field of anthropology, but is now used across a
wide range of social sciences.
A good researcher is required when observing and/or interacting with target
audiences in their real-life environment. Ethnographic studies are usually
conducted through interviews, participant observation and surveys.
When do we use ethnography?
Ethnography is primarily used in the following instances:

While searching for the meanings of cultural norms and views

In trying to understand the reasons for the use of certain behavior or practices
For examining social trends and instances like divorce, illness, migration
For examining social interactions and encounters
To understand the roles of families and organizations and their behaviour
To identify new patterns and gain new insights into social phenomenon
To understand the hygiene and sanitation practices of communities
To observe the types of punishment given to children at school
To study the behaviour of workers in an organization
 Grounded Theory
The qualitative research approach ‘grounded theory’ has been developed by two
sociologists, Barney Glaser & Anselm Strauss (Glaser, 1978, 1992; Glaser &
Strauss, 1967, 2009; Strauss, 1987). They defined ‘grounded theory’ in these
words as ‘The theory that was derived from data, systematically gathered and
analysed through the research process’ (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 12). Grounded
theory is all about data collection and analysis. In this approach the aim is to
construct a theory that is grounded in the data grounded theory deals with only
inductive approach rather than deductive approach of inquiry.
Further, (Punch, 1998, p. 163) defined the grounded theory approach very briefly
in these words as… ‘Grounded theory is not a theory at all. It is a method, an
approach, a strategy. Grounded theory is best defined as a research strategy whose
purpose is to generate theory from data.
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‘Grounded’ means that the theory will be generated on the basis of data; the
theory will therefore be grounded in data. ‘Theory’ means that the objective of
collecting and analysing the research data is to generate theory. The essential in
grounded theory is that theory will be developed inductively from data’.
While Charmaz (2014) added that grounded theory is focused on inductive
strategies for data analysis. It starts with abstract concepts and to explain and
understand data. The journey of theory development in grounded theory approach
starts and ends with the data. This journey is best explained by the ‘Data
collection, analysis, and eventual theory stand in close relationship to one
another…the researcher begins with an area of study and allows the theory to
emerge from the data…grounded theories, because they are drawn from data, are
likely to offer insight, enhance understanding, and provide a meaningful guide to
action’
 Focus group
Focus group or focus group interview is a qualitative technique for data
collection. A focus group is “a group comprised of individuals with certain
characteristics who focus discussions on a given issue or topic” (Anderson,
1990) According to Denscombe (2007), “focus group consists of a small
group of people, usually between six and nine in number, who are brought
together by a trained moderator (the researcher) to explore attitudes and
perceptions, feelings and ideas about a topic”. A focus group interview
provides a setting for the relatively homogeneous group to reflect on the
questions asked by the interviewer.
Since focus groups are “naturalistic rather than natural events and cannot
and should not be left to chance and circumstance”, moderator plays a
critical role in organizing, conducting and controlling the focus group
process. The experienced and skilled moderator ensures the quality of data
generated through focus group interview.
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Focus group interview aims at collecting high-quality data in a social context

(Patton, 2002), which primarily help understand a specific problem from the
viewpoint of the participants of research (Khan & Manderson, 1992). As suggested
by various authors (e.g. Dawson et al, 1993, Morgan, 1997), a moderator needs to
a) be non-judgmental about the responses from the participants.
b) respect the participants,
c) be open-minded,
d) have adequate knowledge about the project,
e) possess good listening skills,
f) have good leadership skills,
g) have good observation skills,
h) show patience and flexibility, and
i) be sensitive to the participants’ needs.
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The question as to why and when focus group interview should be used is very
important.
Firstly, focus group interview may be a valuable research instrument when the
researcher lacks substantial information about the subjects. Focus group
provides “a rich and detailed set of data about perceptions, thoughts, feelings
and impressions of people in their own words” (Stewart & Shamdasani, 1990,
p.140).
Secondly, focus groups are predominantly beneficial when a researcher
intends to find out the people‘s understanding and experiences about the issue
and reasons behind their particular pattern of thinking.
Thirdly, this method is suitable for examining sensitive issues e.g. AIDS and
for getting information from very sensitive population.
Fourthly, use of focus groups is common to give opportunity to marginalized
segments of society e.g. minorities, women etc. for exposing their feelings
about their needs and problems.
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With regard to content, five or six questions are included in many focus groups but a lot
of discussion can take place due to group process. Anderson (1990) gives some
guidelines for constructing the questions for focus groups:
a) Focus questions are always open ended,
b) Questions must be of “qualitative nature” and quantifiers e.g. as how much may
be avoided.
c) Avoid questions that have a possible ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answers,
d) Use of directive approach is avoided to know the reasons behind a particular
standpoint or reaction of the participant`. Thus ‘why’ question is not generally
asked.
e) Large number of questions may be outlined through brainstorming, and then
may be reduced to questions as desired.
f) The question should be sequenced in a natural flow.
 Conversation Analysis
Conversation analysis (CA) is an inductive, micro-analytic, and predominantly qualitative
method for studying language as it is used in social interaction. It differs most distinctly
from other methods in this handbook in its use of field recordings of naturally occurring
conversation; its focus on language as a resource for social action; and its procedure of
basing analyses on the details of participants’ own behavior.
The method consists in the collection and curation of instances of an interactional
phenomenon, the case-by-case analysis of that phenomenon, and the production of a
formal account of its operation.
The CA approach typically resonates with those who are interested in the specifics of
human social conduct and committed to naturalistic observation. It offers researchers a
well-developed descriptive apparatus for investigating conversational interaction and a
rigorously empirical procedure for supporting analyses.
Conversation analysts understand direct interaction between participants as the primordial
site of sociality. Therefore, they almost exclusively use recordings of naturally occurring
interactions, rather than constructed, imagined, or experimentally induced ones.
 Content Analysis
Content analysis is a studying documents and communication artifacts, which might be
texts of various formats, pictures, audio or video. Social scientists use content analysis to
examine patterns in communication in a replicable and systematic manner. One of the key
advantages of using content analysis to analyse social phenomena is its non-invasive
nature, in contrast to simulating social experiences or collecting survey answers.
Practices and philosophies of content analysis vary between academic disciplines. They
all involve systematic reading or observation of texts or artifacts which are assigned
labels (sometimes called codes) to indicate the presence of interesting, meaningful pieces
of content. By systematically labeling the content of a set of texts, researchers can analyse
patterns of content quantitatively using statistical methods, or use qualitative methods to
analyse meanings of content within texts.
Computers are increasingly used in content analysis to automate the labeling (or coding)
of documents. Simple computational techniques can provide descriptive data such as
word frequencies and document lengths. Computer-assisted analysis can help with large,
electronic data sets by cutting out time and eliminating the need for multiple human
coders to establish inter-coder reliability.
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Content Analysis is research using the categorization and classification of speech,

written text, interviews, images, or other forms of communication. Content analysis
is best understood as a broad family of techniques. Effective researchers choose
techniques that best help them answer their substantive questions. That said,
according to Klaus Krippendorff, six questions must be addressed in every content
analysis:

a) Which data are analyzed?

b) How are the data defined?
c) From what population are data drawn?
d) What is the relevant context?
e) What are the boundaries of the analysis?
f) What is to be measured?
 Thematic Analysis
Thematic analysis is one of the most common forms of analysis within qualitative
research. It emphasizes identifying, analysing and interpreting patterns of meaning (or
"themes") within qualitative data.
Thematic analysis is often understood as a method or technique in contrast to most other
qualitative analytic approaches - such as grounded theory, narrative analysis and
interpretative phenomenological analysis - which can be described as methodologies or
theoretically informed frameworks for research (they specify guiding theory, appropriate
research questions and methods of data collection, as well as procedures for conducting
analysis).
TA is best thought of as an umbrella term for a variety of different approaches, rather
than a singular method. Different versions of thematic analysis are underpinned by
different philosophical and conceptual assumptions and are divergent in terms of
procedure.
TA goes beyond simply counting phrases or words in a text (as in content analysis) and
explores explicit and implicit meanings within the data. Coding is the primary process
for developing themes by identifying items of analytic interest in the data and tagging
these with a coding label.
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Coding reliability approaches have the longest history and are often little different
from qualitative content analysis. As the name suggests they prioritise the
measurement of coding reliability through the use of structured and fixed code
books, the use of multiple coders who work independently to apply the code book
to the data, the measurement of inter-rater reliability or inter-coder agreement and
the determination of final coding through consensus or agreement between coders.
The purpose of TA is to identify patterns of meaning across a dataset that provide
an answer to the research question being addressed. Patterns are identified through
a rigorous process of data familiarisation, data coding, and theme development
and revision.
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There are different ways TA can be approached –

a) An inductive way – coding and theme development are directed by the content of the
data;
b) A deductive way – coding and theme development are directed by existing concepts or
ideas;
c) A semantic way – coding and theme development reflect the explicit content of the
data;
d) A constructionist way – focuses on looking at how a certain reality is created by the
data.
More inductive and semantic tend to cluster together; ditto more deductive and constructionist
ones. In reality, the separation isn’t always that rigid. What is vitally important is that your
analysis is theoretically coherent and consistent.
Procedure for Data Analysis

Analysis by atlas.ti7, computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software

(CAQDAS) can assist us with the following strategies:

De-contextualisation and Re-contextualisation (Graneheim, et al, 2017)

Constant comparative analysis
Inductive and deductive approach
Abduction reasoning (which in a way aids the inductive conceptualization)
The coding techniques that can be used for analysis of research
involve:

Open coding,
In-vivo coding,
Axial coding
Selective coding. (Strauss and Corbin, 1990)
Concurrent data collection and analysis was done as a part of the process which intended the
constant comparison of response to response, response to codes, codes to codes, codes to categories,
and categories to categories. This type of analysing procedure that continues until a grounded theory
is fully integrated is labelled as the constant comparative analysis (Birks and Mills, 2015).
Constant comparative analysis generates increasingly more abstract concepts and theories through
inductive processes (Burnard, 2006). Helpful at this stage is the visibility of code frequency in the
atlas.ti7 Code Manager, the ease of data retrieval to check and validate code segments and the code
families to help build the final coding structure (Sorato, 2020). The other technique in grounded
theory that the researcher used is abduction which in a way aids the inductive conceptualization.
Abductive reasoning was considered to occur somewhat in all stages of analysis in this study but
was particularly more evident during the constant comparative analysis of categories to categories
which led to the theoretical integration.