Characteristics of Qualitative Research - Essay Example

Characteristics of Qualitative Research Characteristics of Qualitative Research Research methods are ways that researchers use to get information on the subject of interest. Choosing a specific research strategy is the first step to realizing the purpose of the study and is the best way to answer the questions relevantly. Qualitative research is one of the best ways of getting information and accomplishing the purpose of a specific study. This research method is purely concerned with non-statistical ways of getting and analyzing the social information in the society. Additionally, the data collected through qualitative research are words, photographs, videos, sound recordings among others. Consequently, this method aims at gaining insight and understanding of a phenomenon through interviews and observations adopted by the researcher. It uses detailed descriptions from researcher’s perspective to examine vital and significant data. Due to its uniqueness, this method exhibits a range of characteristics. Qualitative research method is flexible, natural, and inductive. Qualitative research methods are typically flexible. This research method allows spontaneous interaction between the researcher and the focus group. According to Liamputtong (2009), the participant is given a chance to express his/her views, which heavily impact the next question of the researcher. This allows an exclusion, addition or changing the wording order of the specific interview questions of the researcher. Consequently, qualitative researchers use open-ended questions that have no rigid format to all participants of the research. This type of questions gives participants freedom to express themselves freely and in their words allowing the researcher to get authentic and adequate information from the study. Not only are the responses adequate, but also expounded since the researcher is not limited to the “Yes” or “No” answer. Furthermore, the nature of this research is often not formal allowing the respondent to elaborate his/her answer adequately and giving clarifications where the researcher does not clearly understand. In addition, the most common and relevant methods used to collect data in qualitative research is the use of interviews, focus groups, and observations. Though there are various methods such as textual or visual analysis, the three methods are the most dominant ones adopted by different researchers. Through personal and focus group interviews, researchers can know beliefs, views, and experiences of the sample under study (Bremen, 2013). This type of data collection method is relevant and appropriate for sensitive topics where participants require privacy to express themselves. Furthermore, written description is also a relevant way of interviewing participants. The researcher asks the main participants to write a description of their views and experiences towards the subject of study. Furthermore, observations are also relevant way of collecting data. This method allows the researcher to interact and stay with the group under study carefully observing them and recording relevant data. As a result, this method is naturalistic since the researcher studies the participants in their natural setting without manipulating or interfering with the environment. Another characteristic of qualitative research is inductive data analysis (Tracy, 2013). This means proper and adequate synthesis of the collected data to achieve desired results and realize the purpose of the study. Qualitative data analysis requires appropriate process in order to realize the objective and purpose of the research. The process begins with the interim analysis where the researcher collects and analyzes data from a single study. This step is meant for fully understanding the topic of study. In addition, the researcher engages memoing. Through this process, the researcher records reflective notes of his/her understanding of the data collected. Moreover, the researcher carefully transcribes the recorded interviews during the study process. In order to understand the data further, the researcher proof reads the transcripts and notes the specific themes. Next, the researcher relates and makes the connection of the themes to the questions of the study. This involves developing themes from the data to answer the study questions properly and satisfactorily. After achieving this, coding the data is appropriate to give them a unique identity. Once the coding process is successful, the researcher interprets the findings of the research process by diving coded data into themes. The data is studied within the themes and compared to multiple sources to validate the information from the study. The researcher takes notes from the study and makes relevant comments on the findings. This analysis process is relevant for all data irrespective of the collection method. Furthermore, there is no exact way of determining sample size in qualitative analysis. The sample to be adopted in this research method depends heavily on a number of significant factors to be studied. The quality and credibility of data determines the sample size to be used. Further, the scope and nature of the topic under study are also significant. The number of interviews per participant in the study and the use of shadowed data can further influence the sample size. Studies that are broad and require many participants require large sample size for credibility and adequacy of the information. On the contrary, for a study that requires quality information, the sample size must be small for effective and appropriate collection of data in the area. Additionally, qualitative studies results give a rich narrative description of the phenomenon studied and analyzed by the researcher (Tracy, 2013). The results reports have contextual descriptions and direct quotation from the various participants in the research process. Readers of these reports that contain results of qualitative research understand the context, purpose, and outcome of the study in details. The detailed description gives readers a visual idea of the participants in the research process. Further, the readers can visualize the environment due to the provision of in-depth information in the tables and charts. Through the reports, readers get adequate knowledge about the phenomenon under study without conducting a similar research practice. Besides, another unique characteristic of this research method is the process intuitive. This process focuses on why and how behaviors or phenomenon occurs. Further, the researcher is determined to locate where and when the phenomenon or behavior under study occurs. The researcher can determine the genesis of the problem through this process adequately. Equally important, the researcher gets the exact reason and purpose for the occurrence of the problem or behavior. Ultimately, using the vital information gathered, the researchers can devise ways of solving or improving the phenomenon. Though this process is appropriate and useful a, the researcher requires adequate funds and time to fulfill it. There are numerous considerations when deciding on the appropriateness and relevancy of a qualitative research method. According to Given (2008), this method is relevant to research studies that require an understanding of the phenomenon under study. In addition, it is useful in gaining in-depth information and a new perspective on various things that may prove difficult to be analyzed using numerical. Consequently, this research method is relevant and appropriate in situations where identifications of variables are a necessity for other research methods such as quantitative research. In addition, this research method supplements other methods by adequately describing and interpreting various situations encountered. Conversely, this method is not appropriate in studies where measurement and statistical projections are required. It is because data collected through qualitative research are words, videos, or pictures. Evidently, qualitative research method is unique since it exhibits a range of characteristics that are not common to other research methods. The uniqueness of this method makes it efficient and appropriate in some research studies. Through inductive analysis and the flexibility of this method, the researcher achieves relevant and appropriate detailed information from the participants. Although this research is inappropriate in some situations, it largely useful and supplements other research practices. Researchers should aim at adopting this process due to its uniqueness and ability to produce credible, detailed, and valid information from research practices. On the surface, this research method can be viewed as the quality oriented because of its efficiency and nature in achieving its purpose. References Brennen, B. S. (2012). Qualitative Research Methods for Media Studies. Routledge. Given, L. M. (2008). The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods: A-L ; Vol. 2, M-Z Index. Liamputtong, P. (2009). Qualitative Research Methods. Google Books. Oxford University Press. Tracy, S. J. (2012). Qualitative Research Methods. John Wiley & Sons. Read More