Did you know? The qualitative research method used has a massive impact on results.
Before beginning a study, it’s imperative to choose research design wisely. Any wrong methodology can be detrimental to your research, wasting precious time and resources.
In this article, we’ll examine the different types of qualitative research. Each has its own application and addresses a different research objective. We’ll go over the various qualitative research methods and show you how to choose the method that best fits your requirements.
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What is Qualitative Research?
Qualitative research is the collection and analysis of non-numerical data. Detailed descriptions of complex phenomena help capture the granular context of the human experience. Researchers gather data to understand people’s underlying beliefs, values, motivations, and frustrations.
Use qualitative research to uncover trends in thought and opinions. As an exploratory, it forms a foundation for future decision-making. Researchers use it to develop an initial understanding of a phenomenon. It’s also investigative in nature, allowing researchers to dive deeper into a problem.
This type of research produces descriptive data. Text, images, audio, and video reveal expressive information that is not conveyed in quantitative data. Methods used include (but aren’t limited to) observations, interviews, and focus groups. Studies involve a small sample size to gather perspectives in great detail.
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Applications of Qualitative Research
Qualitative research originated from social sciences such as psychology, sociology, and anthropology. Today, it cuts across disciplines, extending into technology, healthcare, education, and business. Here are some common applications of qualitative research:
- Product: Critical to product development. Captures user thoughts and sentiments, helping identify trends and opportunities in the market. This information drives product launches and updates. Companies constantly iterate and improve their offerings.
- Marketing: Marketers better understand user perceptions and attitudes toward a product. They explore user thinking and motivation that influence purchasing decisions. Then, they customize communication to attract potential customers and retain existing ones.
- Education: Learning has changed. Qualitative studies examine teaching methods, student psychology & engagement, and everyday interactions. The needs and challenges teachers and students face help inform curriculum development.
- Healthcare & Policy: Helps medical professionals understand patients’ conditions. They study patients’ experiences with chronic illness, access to healthcare, and others. This helps develop healthcare practices and applications. Used similarly in policy development.
Different Types of Qualitative Research
“Qualitative research” is a catch-all umbrella term. It encapsulates numerous different methods of gathering and analyzing data. Each study type lends itself to a different kind of exploration. Below, we dive into the various types of qualitative research methods:
1. Ethnography
A semi-structured way to learn about different cultures. Researchers observe groups in their natural environment by immersing themselves in a culture. They seek to understand people’s behaviors, beliefs, and values.
Researchers study subjects in two ways — as silent background observers or participant observers. Participatory observers interact with research subjects as they carry out their regular activities. Both roles involve taking field notes of what they see and hear for later analysis.
Additionally, researchers may seek out key informants, interviewing them with previously prepared questions. This helps them uncover how people’s experiences shape their perceptions and decisions. Recording these interactions(audio or video) is helpful for tagging or coding data.
Researchers must beware of how immersing themselves too much can lead to bias. They must protect participant confidentiality while being sensitive to different cultures and backgrounds.
Ethnography reveals rich contextual data about social conventions, typical behavior, and cultural dynamics.
Example: Jane Goodall living with chimpanzees and studying their behavior in the wild. Africa, circa 1991.
2. Phenomenology
“The study of the meaning of phenomena.” Phenomenology investigates how individuals perceive their lived experiences. Studies reveal why individuals behave a certain way. They offer insight into people’s individual and subjective experiences.
In-depth interviews and open-ended questionnaires help uncover people’s emotions and behaviors. Delving into how people make sense of phenomena helps build user empathy. As a result, companies create more detailed user personas. More user-centric products follow.
The investigator or researcher plays a part in the phenomenological experience. Inherent bias is ever-present in all research. Document this from the outset. Due to the widely differing and subjective nature of results, take care and do not overstate findings. Results aren’t applicable to larger populations.
Example: Interviewing the elderly to understand how they coped during the COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Action Research
A highly interactive research method where researchers investigate and solve an issue. They participate actively in a situation. Researchers collaborate with participants to undertake a specific challenge.
Action research is cyclical. This means that at each step, there’s an information exchange between both parties. In an iterative process, researchers gather data and adjust the scope based on results. It seeks to produce actionable processes over the course of research. Great for implementing changes in an existing system.
Used frequently in education, it helps identify the difference between theory and practice. An effective method to learn how something works practically. Conduct this type of research with individuals, groups, or communities.
Example: An airline actively asking traveling passengers about their check-in procedure. They ask about the different tasks, their convenience, and the time taken. Finally, soliciting suggestions on how to improve it.
4. Case Study
Case studies provide a rich and contextualized understanding of a real-world subject.
Detailed studies focus on a specific entity, event, or instance. Researchers isolate an individual, group, community, or phenomenon. They explore the circumstances around it in depth. This helps researchers understand cause-and-effect relationships and how they change over time.
Single case studies examine the nuances of one entity. Multiple entity case studies look for patterns across entities. Longitudinal studies chart an entity’s progress over time.
Case studies are excellent for describing and examining various aspects of a research problem. Using findings as examples, companies directly apply what they have learned to other practical scenarios. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business settings.
Example: Investigating factors contributing to Nike’s decline in sales and market capitalization.
5. Narrative Analysis
Narrative analysis involves collecting stories from different individuals. It helps us understand how people make sense of their experiences. A form of long-term observation, subjects share narratives of their experiences over time. Researchers collect participant data at different stages of the study.
Researchers deep dive into a few participant stories, observing users and taking notes. Asking open-ended questions allows people to express their subjective viewpoints. Participants share their attitudes and opinions as they go through key stages of a study.
Analyzing user responses for key themes and patterns helps create accurate user personas. Companies then tailor future products and messaging to their target audience.
Example: A running shoe company wants to understand buyer journeys on their website. They gather data from beginners to expert runners, soliciting feedback at each stage.
6. Historical Research
“The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.”
Researchers identify, evaluate, and synthesize historical data to analyze past events. They examine the underlying reasons behind why an event transpired and its impact. This provides context about the past, explaining different phenomena. It also offers a glimpse into possible future behavior.
Historical research examines past data from documents, artifacts, and other records. Researchers use primary and secondary sources of information to gather past data.
Studies offer a longitudinal view – charting the evolution of market trends and changing user preferences. Analyzing past data for patterns informs marketing and product strategies.
Example: A popular music streaming platform analyzes how people reacted to its “year in review” feature over time. They leverage user behavior and listening history to recommend new song choices.
7. Grounded Theory
Quantitative studies aim to test or verify theories and are deductive in nature. Grounded theory is an inductive approach in qualitative research. Its primary aim is to generate a theory of social phenomena – why an event occurs or why people behave a certain way.
It’s different from phenomenological studies as it incorporates various sources. Phenomenology seeks to explain events only from people who’ve lived through it. Grounded theory studies are less structured at the beginning. Researchers revise direction and redevelop theories as they collect more data.
Researchers incorporate user data and opinions from social interactions. Supplemented by experiential and observational data. Purposeful sampling helps select subjects with new perspectives on a particular phenomenon.
Example: Company X has an unusually high employee attrition rate. To investigate why, they roll out surveys and study exit interview transcripts to understand more. Their study reveals that employees left due to the work-life (im)balance.
8. Focus Groups
Focus groups involve a small, carefully selected group of people (6-10+) discussing a specific topic or product. Companies frequently conduct focus groups to garner feedback about their products.
Directed by a moderator, each member shares their opinions and product experiences. This allows researchers to gain deep insight into a particular topic. The group setting facilitates collaboration. It provides a collective view of how people perceive a company or product.
Researchers ask several questions to understand peoples’ opinions, attitudes, and frustrations. Focus groups are helpful for understanding how different people interact with a product. Great for understanding the company’s diverse user personas.
Example: Apple rolls out beta versions of its iOS software to early bird users. They host focus groups to understand teething issues and request product features.
How to Choose the Right Qualitative Research Approach
When beginning a study, this first step is critical. Choosing the right qualitative research design.
Carefully consider the qualitative research approach best suited for your project. Your choice of research method shapes a study, influencing the quality of findings. Follow these steps to ensure your research design produces in-depth and actionable insights:
- Define the research question: Clarify your research purpose and objectives. What are you trying to learn from your study? What questions are you trying to answer? Draft a problem statement – a sentence that describes the problem. Also a purpose statement – one that outlines your research goals.
- Understand context & resource availability: What is the resource allocation for the project? Each method has its own requirements. Consider financial and time constraints when choosing. An important factor is manpower – how skilled must the lead researcher be? How many hours of their time will the project require?
- Identify design features of each type: Weigh the benefits and limitations of each method. Which one provides the best exploration of the research question? Are you trying to understand more about individual experience(s)? Or cultural context? Explain a process or phenomenon? Develop a theory?
- Tailor studies to target audience: Which method is most conducive to collecting accurate data from participants? Inexpensive and easy to scale, but do surveys elicit truthful responses? Ethnography includes observing subjects, but will they change their behavior? Consider the characteristics of your audience beforehand.
- Align research question with design: After identifying the key features of each design, it’s time to make a choice. Consider which method aligns with the research objectives and context. Which design yields the most valuable insights?
Your choice of qualitative research design depends on various factors. Carefully consider the project requirements before making your choice. Look for methods that explore a topic in-depth. Ones that capture the complexities and nuances of the human experience.
Pros and Cons of Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is a rigorous process. However, it’s also creative and interpretive. That’s what makes it so convoluted. Gathering and analyzing qualitative data has its own set of strengths and limitations. The table below summarizes the upsides and drawbacks of qualitative research:
| Pros | Cons |
| Depth Produces rich, descriptive information about complex phenomena. Open-ended questions help decode people’s perspectives. Researchers explore the nuances and meanings behind their behavior. | Subjectivity Studies are susceptible to misinterpretation and bias. Researcher’s interpretations & decisions introduce bias. Collecting data over many sessions leads to misleading conclusions. This affects reliability and validity of results. |
| Flexibility Unlike rigid quantitative studies, qualitative studies are adaptable. Researchers pivot and revise research questions during a study. They reshape the research process as new insights emerge. | Complexity Analyzing and coding qualitative data is difficult. It requires expert knowledge and training. This calls for researchers with the requisite skills, experience, and cultural understanding. |
| Contextual understanding Capture data in naturalistic settings or the real-world context. Comprehensive and descriptive data helps researchers understand contexts behind certain behavior or phenomena. | Resource-intensive Qualitative studies are time-consuming and resource-intensive. Not to mention the skilled manpower required. Companies must strategically plan studies, paying heed to resource allocation. |
| Generative The first step of investigation. Relies on inductive reasoning to generate a theory or hypothesis. Researchers identify new problem areas, ideas, and opportunities. | Generalizability (lack thereof) Using small, non-representative samples means you can’t apply results to the broader population. A study’s conditions, context, and interactions aren’t easily replicable. |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Below, we answer all your burning questions about the types of qualitative research methods:
What Software Tools Are Commonly Used in Qualitative Research?
Conduct interviews and focus groups using communication tools such as Zoom, Meet, and Teams. Build and distribute surveys with popular tools like SurveyMonkey and Typeform. That’s data capture.
You need a tool for data collection, management, and analysis.
Assimilate all quantitative and qualitative data into Marvin, a robust research repository. Use Ask AI to interrogate your library of documents, video, and audio files. The ‘Analyze’ tab helps you organize and tag your data. Create interactive reports with highlight reels, graphs, and charts. Share files effortlessly.
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How Do Researchers Ensure Validity in Qualitative Research?
Validity in qualitative research reflects the appropriateness of tools, processes, and data. Qualitative research is valid when findings are credible, authentic, accurate, and truthful. Researchers ensure validity in qualitative studies by conducting the following tasks:
- Triangulation helps verify the data. Collect data from multiple sources, including researchers, resources, and theories. Learn about triangulation in qualitative research.
- Test initial results with participants. Collect feedback to see if the findings represent the truth.
- Maintain a well-documented audit trail of processes and materials. Be transparent about bias and qualitative data analysis procedures.
- Conduct a thorough examination of outlying cases. Look for alternative explanations of results.
How is Data Collected in Qualitative Research?
Researchers conduct interviews, document observations, and study artifacts to gather qualitative data. These artifacts include text, audio, video, and images.
Surveys help collect data from a large sample group. Interviews and focus groups happen in person or remotely. It’s helpful to have a tool to record these interactions for later analysis.
Invite Marvin to your online meetings and receive a highly accurate transcript in minutes. Marvin’s AI creates time-stamped insights so you can focus on your participant(s). Analyze video and text, cutting highlight reels together to identify key themes.
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Conclusion – Qualitative Research Types
Quantitative research provides information about universal circumstances. Qualitative research provides deeper knowledge about the inner workings of these circumstances. It helps you learn more about users. Understand the needs, motivations, and the thought processes behind their behavior.
Researchers must assess numerous factors to determine the right qualitative research approach. These include assessing the research objectives, context, resource availability, and target audience.
Get the most out of your data with the right qualitative research approach.
