What are the tools in Qualitative research?

What are the tools in Qualitative research?

“Qualitative research” is defined as “an inquiry into the way people interpret a certain social condition around them”. This method of research typically involve conducting interviews or making conversations with the respondents with the purpose of collecting the necessary data planned to be collected by the researcher.

An example of “Qualitative research” is examining the extent to which a certain education program at a given university is suited to the needs of the students. Qualitative research provides a subjective way of analyzing data without using mathematics or statistics. Despite the many benefits of Qualitative research, it has also short comes including time consuming, due to the fact that it involve gathering data through engaging with the target group and in most instances for a long time.

 Qualitative research methods 

Qualitative research typically involves capturing different themes related to words, sound, emotions, and many related elements that are considered non-quantifiable. The purpose of Qualitative research is to ensure much deeper understanding and Qualitative research methods include interviews, questionnaires with open-ended questions, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), observation, etc. The choice among quantitative or Qualitative research mainly rely on the area of the research and the distinct nature of the research.

There are many Qualitative research methods. Your selection of a certain method highly reliant on what you are aiming to achieve. However, there are three most common methods of Qualitative research namely “interviews, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and observation”.

1. Interviews

Interviews are of the most common Qualitative research method. This type of data collection method usually held for one hour and is conducted directly in person or via different media such as skype or telephone. Moreover, Interviews may be conducted by sending Emails or letters containing questions. Interviews include “structured, semi-structured or open-ended”. Interviews can be incorporated to any stage in the research.

Data collection when conducting interviews: To ensure that all data is gathered, many researchers opt to record the interview. However, the researcher should acquire a consent prior to recording the interview.

2. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)

What is a Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)? Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) are another common Qualitative research tool. “Focus Group Discussions” (FGDs) are discussion sessions with a group of respondents who have a direct relation with the subject being investigated. FGDs are used to capture facts and realities regarding a given issue. “Focus Group Discussions” (FGDs) are usually held with a group of participants ranging from 8-12.

“Focus Group Discussions” (FGDs) are usually held to gather the views and opinions of groups who are not willing to express their views and opinions in private. “Focus Group Discussions” )FGDs) usually takes from one hour to one hour and a half. If the “Focus Group Discussions” )FGDs) is less than one hour, it is considered a challenge to the researcher to gather the needed facts and opinions of the topic being researched. While if the “Focus Group Discussions” )FGDs) is longer than an hour and half, this will make it useless and will not satisfy its purposes.

In “Focus Group Discussions” (FGDs), the researcher isn’t aiming to gather the views of the entire population as in a survey.  While the goal of FGDs is to understand the rationale behind a given issue that has been investigated earlier through other data collection tools. The results of an In a Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), are exploratory, not conclusive.

Since the data collected through “Focus Group Discussions” (FGDs) is characterized as Qualitative, the researcher cannot generalize the data to the whole population. This is because Qualitative data is usually attributed to  a certain context being studied.

3. Observations 

Observations are a Qualitative research tool where researchers collect data through observing the behavior of the targeted group.

Types of Observations:

• Covert Observations: where the targeted group is not aware of the fact that they are being observed.
• Overt Observations: in this type of Observations, the targeted groups are aware that they are being observed.

Usually, overt Observations are considered the best type, since the lack of knowledge of the people that they are being observed make them act naturally and eventually lead to better results.For overt Observations, it is important for the researcher to obtain an informed consent from the people being observed.

Covert Observations and overt Observations aren’t the only types of Observations. There are also other types of Observations such as direct, indirect, simple, behavioral, participant, and non-participant Observations. Overt Observations may cause the Hawthorne effect, which mean that people tend to act in a better manner when they aware of the fact that they are being observed.

 Watch: Overview of Qualitative Research Methods 

With greetings: Al - Manara Consulting to help researchers and graduate students