ua||tat|ve kesearch |n 8us|ness

noma M||an| Un|vers|ty of At|anta USA

Abstract
CuallLaLlve research ls rlch and explanaLory by lLs own naLure and because of LhaL
Lhe relaLed sLudles can be found ln many areas such as soclal work nurslng
counsellng leadershlp admlnlsLraLlon healLh care communlLy servlces
managemenL and many oLher
ln quallLaLlve research Lhe Lyranny of numbers ls abandoned for Lhe enlgma of
words 1he sLrengLh of quallLaLlve research ls lLs ablllLy Lo provlde complex LexLual
descrlpLlons of how people experlence a glven research lssue lL provldes
lnformaLlon abouL Lhe human" slde of an lssue LhaL ls Lhe ofLen conLradlcLory
behavlors bellefs oplnlons emoLlons and relaLlonshlps of lndlvlduals
llexlblllLy Lo follow unexpecLed ldeas durlng research and explore processes
effecLlvely and lncreased opporLunlLles Lo develop emplrlcally supporLed new
ldeas and Lheorles are [usL few advanLages of quallLaLlve research compare Lo
quanLlLaLlve one

Introduct|on
CuallLaLlve and quanLlLaLlve paradlgms Lry Lo flnd Lhe same Lhlng 1he rlghL
answer Lhe LruLh 8oLh of Lhem are sclenLlflc research ln general Lerms sclenLlflc
research conslsLs of an lnvesLlgaLlon LhaL

- Seeks answers Lo a quesLlon
- SysLemaLlcally uses a predeflned seL of procedures Lo answer Lhe quesLlon
- CollecLs evldence
- roduces flndlngs LhaL were noL deLermlned ln advance
- roduces flndlngs LhaL are appllcable beyond Lhe lmmedlaLe boundarles of Lhe
sLudy

CuallLaLlve research shares Lhese characLerlsLlcs AddlLlonally lL seeks Lo
undersLand a glven research problem or Loplc from Lhe perspecLlves of Lhe local
populaLlon lL lnvolves CuallLaLlve research ls especlally effecLlve ln obLalnlng
culLurally speclflc lnformaLlon abouL Lhe values oplnlons behavlors and soclal
conLexLs of parLlcular populaLlons1

1he Nature of ua||tat|ve research
1he key Lo undersLandlng quallLaLlve research lles wlLh Lhe ldea LhaL meanlng ls
soclally consLrucLed by lndlvlduals ln lnLeracLlon wlLh Lhelr world 1he world or
reallLy ls noL Lhe flxed slngle agreed upon or measurable phenomenon LhaL lL
ls assumed Lo be ln poslLlvlsL quanLlLaLlve research lnsLead Lhere are mulLlple
consLrucLlons and lnLerpreLaLlons of reallLy LhaL are ln flux and LhaL change
overLlme CuallLaLlve researchers are lnLeresLed ln undersLandlng whaL Lhose
lnLerpreLaLlons are aL a parLlcular polnL ln Llme and ln a parLlcular conLexL2

Whlle quanLlLaLlve and quallLaLlve lnqulry represenL Lwo leglLlmaLe ways Lo
lnvesLlgaLe researchers uslng one or Lhe oLher Lackle emplrlcal research
dlfferenLly LvereL and Louls (1981) clarlfy Lhe assumpLlons LhaL ground each by
dlsLlngulshlng Lwo research sLances lnqulry from Lhe ouLslde" ofLen
lmplemenLed vla quanLlLaLlve sLudles and lnqulry from Lhe lnslde" vla quallLaLlve
sLudles 1hls lmage characLerlzes quallLaLlve researchers as dlscoverers and
reconcllers of meanlng where no meanlng has been clearly undersLood before3

1he role beneflLs and approprlaLe use of quallLaLlve research meLhods ln Lhe
baslc and applled soclal and cllnlcal sclences have been dlscussed exLenslvely ln
Lhe research llLeraLure 1he fleld of healLh servlces research ln parLlcular has
beneflLed from several lnslghLful comprehenslve dlscusslons of quallLaLlve
research meLhods and Lhelr approprlaLe use roponenLs have convlnclngly
argued LhaL quallLaLlve meLhods conLrlbuLe flndlngs and lnslghLs LhaL cannoL be
derlved from convenLlonal or quanLlLaLlve research meLhods and LhaL
research ln Lhe cllnlcal soclal and pollcy sclences requlres careful appllcaLlon of
boLh Lypes of approaches Lo properly sLudy Lhelr phenomena of lnLeresL3
ln quallLaLlve research Lhe Lyranny of numbers ls abandoned for Lhe enlgma of
words lL ls ofLen seen as rooLed ln a nonLanglble domaln fundamenLally
experlenLlal and lnLulLlve CuallLaLlve work ls ln consLanL dynamlc flux buL
movlng Loward some endpolnL ln an evoluLlonary way 1here are efforLs by Lhe
mlnd Lo concreLlze meanlng and Lhe quallLaLlve dlmenslon has an lnLegraLlve
funcLlon for Lhe researcher unlLy provldes conLexL and meanlng and lL ls Loward
such unlLy LhaL Lhe researcher ls sLrlvlng CuallLaLlve efforLs make use of LhaL parL
of Lhe person concerned wlLh meanlng LruLh purpose or reallLyLhe ulLlmaLe
slgnlflcance of Lhlngs 6
1he sLrengLh of quallLaLlve research ls lLs ablllLy Lo provlde complex LexLual
descrlpLlons of how people experlence a glven research lssue lL provldes
lnformaLlon abouL Lhe human" slde of an lssue LhaL ls Lhe ofLen conLradlcLory
behavlors bellefs oplnlons emoLlons and relaLlonshlps of lndlvlduals CuallLaLlve
meLhods are also effecLlve ln ldenLlfylng lnLanglble facLors such as soclal norms
socloeconomlc sLaLus gender roles eLhnlclLy and rellglon whose role ln Lhe
research lssue may noL be readlly apparenL1

uenzln and Llncoln (1994) vlewed quallLaLlve research as a fleld of lnqulry ln lLs
own rlghL lL crosscuLs dlsclpllnes flelds and sub[ecL maLLers A complex
lnLerconnecLed famlly of Lerms concepLs and assumpLlons surround Lhe Lerm
quallLaLlve research4

Jhat Are the 8as|c D|fferences 8etween uant|tat|ve and ua||tat|ve kesearch
Method?

CuanLlLaLlve research ls more abouL sysLemaLlc lnvesLlgaLlon of soclal phenomena
whlch would be done vla sLaLlsLlcal maLhemaLlcal or compuLaLlonal Lechnlques
ln oLher hand CuallLaLlve research alms Lo geL lndepLh undersLandlng of human
behavlor 1he quallLaLlve meLhod beslde of whaL when and where"
lnvesLlgaLes Lhe why and how of declslon maklng

CuanLlLaLlve and quallLaLlve research meLhods dlffer prlmarlly ln
- 1helr analyLlcal ob[ecLlves
- 1he Lypes of quesLlons Lhey pose
- 1he Lypes of daLa collecLlon lnsLrumenLs Lhey use
- 1he forms of daLa Lhey produce
- 1he degree of flexlblllLy bullL lnLo sLudy deslgn 1

ln quanLlLaLlve paradlgm researchers always aLLempL Lo dellmlL phenomena lnLo
measurable or common caLegorles LhaL can be applled Lo all of Lhe sub[ecLs4
1he key dlfference beLween quanLlLaLlve and quallLaLlve meLhods ls Lhelr
flexlblllLy Cenerally quanLlLaLlve meLhods are falrly lnflexlble1
1hls flexlblllLy allows greaLer sponLanelLy and adapLaLlon of Lhe lnLeracLlon
beLween Lhe researcher and Lhe sLudy parLlclpanL lor example quallLaLlve
meLhods ask mosLly openended" quesLlons LhaL are noL necessarlly worded ln
exacLly Lhe same way wlLh each parLlclpanL WlLh openended quesLlons
parLlclpanLs are free Lo respond ln Lhelr own words and Lhese responses Lend Lo
be more complex Lhan slmply yes" or no"1

Jhy Je Shou|d Choose ua||tat|ve kesearch?

8eslde Lhe naLure of research quesLlon Lhere ls some oLher reason why we should
choose Lhe quallLaLlve research

- 1o explore a phenomenon LhaL has noL been sLudled before (and LhaL may be
subsequenLly developed quanLlLaLlvely)

- 1o add rlch deLall and nuance LhaL lllusLraLes or documenLs exlsLlng knowledge
of a phenomenon generaLed quanLlLaLlvely

- 1o beLLer undersLand a Loplc by sLudylng lL slmulLaneously (LrlangulaLlon) or
concurrenLly wlLh boLh meLhods (mlxlng quanLlLaLlve and quallLaLlve meLhods aL
Lhe same Llme or ln cycles dependlng on Lhe problem)

- 1o advance a novel perspecLlve of a phenomenon well sLudled quanLlLaLlvely
buL noL well undersLood because of Lhe narrow perspecLlves used before

- 1o Lry Lo undersLand" any soclal phenomenon from Lhe perspecLlve of Lhe
acLors lnvolved raLher Lhan explalnlng lL (unsuccessfully) from Lhe ouLslde

- 1o undersLand complex phenomena LhaL ls dlfflculL or lmposslble Lo approach
or Lo capLure quanLlLaLlvely

- 1o undersLand any phenomenon ln lLs complexlLy or one LhaL has been
dlsmlssed by malnsLream research because of Lhe dlfflculLles Lo sLudy lL or LhaL
has been dlscarded as lrrelevanL or LhaL has been sLudled as lf only one polnL of
vlew abouL lL was real3
1he producL of a quallLaLlve lnqulry ls rlchly descrlpLlve Words and plcLures
raLher Lhan numbers are used Lo convey whaL Lhe researcher has learned abouL a
phenomenon 1here are llkely Lo be descrlpLlons of Lhe conLexL Lhe parLlclpanLs
lnvolved Lhe acLlvlLles of lnLeresL ln addlLlon daLa ln Lhe form of quoLes from
documenLs fleld noLes and parLlclpanL lnLervlews excerpLs from vldeoLapes
elecLronlc communlcaLlon or a comblnaLlon Lhereof are always lncluded ln
supporL of Lhe flndlngs of Lhe sLudy 1hese quoLes and excerpLs conLrlbuLe Lo
Lhe descrlpLlve naLure of quallLaLlve research2

Ia||d|ty and ke||ab|||ty of I|nd|ngs |n ua||tat|ve kesearch
valldlLy ln quallLaLlve research means Lhe exLenL Lo whlch Lhe daLa ls plauslble
credlble and rusL worLhy and Lhus can be defended when challenged4
1hreaLs Lo Lhe valldlLy and value of quallLaLlve meLhods wlLhln managemenL
research arlse LhroughouL Lhe enLlre process of Lhelr appllcaLlon lncludlng (1)
sLudy deslgn and concepLuallzaLlon (2) daLa collecLlon lnsLrumenL and proLocol
deslgn and developmenL (3) daLa collecLlon and (4) analysls and lnLerpreLaLlon
MosL of Lhese LhreaLs relaLe Lo need for rlgor and for expllclL fprlorl goals plans
and lmplemenLaLlon of quallLaLlve meLhods3
8ellablllLy has been deflned as 1he exLenL Lo whlch resulLs are conslsLenL over
Llme and an accuraLe represenLaLlon of Lhe LoLal populaLlon under sLudy ls
referred Lo as rellablllLy and lf Lhe resulLs of a sLudy can be reproduced under a
slmllar meLhodology Lhen Lhe research lnsLrumenL ls consldered Lo be
rellable"4

An Lxamp|e of ua||tat|ve kesearch

ln 2003 l declded Lo do research abouL Successful lranlan SMLs" l would llke Lo
flnd ouL LhaL how Lhese companles could be successful desplLe of all uS and oLher
counLlres sancLlons and all Lhe economlcal Lurbulances whlch dld affecL all Lhe
mlddle easL such as lraq and AfghanlsLan war

So Lhe research quesLlon was almosL clear Lo us and ln order Lo answer lL we
should choose a quallLaLlve research because l was abouL flndlng some facLors
whlch were noL numbers Among Lhe all quallLaLlve research meLhod my
professor lnLroduced grounded Lheory wlLh me and we sLarLed Lo flnd Lhe
successful SMLs whlch by successful we mean Lhose who have flnanclally poslLlve
raLe of proflL grow for durlng pasL 3 years and by SML we mean Lhe companles
who have employees of 300300 people

AfLer 3 companles lnvesLlgaLlon and loLs of open ended lnLervlews we dld reach
Lo saLuraLlon polnL whlch no new concepL was produced Powever l should say lL
Look 2 years Lo flnlsh Lhls research as noL all of companles were open mlnded Lo
share Lhe lnformaLlon wlLh us Also lL was Lhe flrsL Llme LhaL grounded Lheory has
been done ln lran so we need Lo do everyLhlng from scraLch buL lL worLh lL and
Lhe resulL was a book whlch ls now under 3
rd
republlshlng

Among Lhe facLors LhaL we flnd was 8unnlng famlly buslness a charlsmaLlc
leader empowerlng Lhe cusLomer creaLlng value for Lhelr cusLomer conLlnuously
belng open mlnded abouL Lhelr weak polnLs and so on

Conc|us|on
llexlblllLy belng rlchly descrlpLlve advanclng a novel perspecLlve of a phenomena
are all among Lhe reason why Lhe researchers nowadays prefer Lo choose
quallLaLlve research raLher Lhan quanLlLaLlve 1he ablllLy of undersLandlng
complex phenomena LhaL ls dlfflculL Lo approach quanLlLaLlvely and loL more
brlng Lhls ldea ln mlnd LhaL "Lhe more slgnlflcanL Lhe lmpacL of Lhe quesLlon
enlgma or hypoLhesls Lhe more vlLal Lhe quallLaLlve approach"
1he advanLages of dolng quallLaLlve research lnclude

- llexlblllLy Lo follow unexpecLed ldeas durlng research and explore processes
effecLlvely
- SenslLlvlLy Lo conLexLual facLors
- AblllLy Lo sLudy symbollc dlmenslons and soclal meanlng
- lncreased opporLunlLles Lo develop emplrlcally supporLed new ldeas and
Lheorles



keference
1 Csplna S (2004)CuallLaLlve 8esearch MeLhods Cvervlew
lrom
hLLp//wwwfhlorg

2 Merrlam S8 (2002)1he naLure of CuallLaLlve lnqulry
lrom
hLLp//medlawlleycom/producL_daLa/excerpL/36/07879389/0787938936pdf


3MlLLman 8S (2001) CuallLaLlve MeLhods and 8lgorous ManagemenL research
(Pow) Are 1hey CompaLlble?
lrom
wwwcolmrresearchvagov/mlLLmanrevdoc

4 8ashlr M Afzal M1 AzeemM (2008) 8ellablllLy and valldlLy of CuallLaLlve and
CperaLlonal 8esearch aradlgm
lrom
wwp[sorcom/lndexphp/p[sor/arLlcle/download/39/38

3 CuallLaLlve 8esearch leadershlp Lncyclopedla
lrom
hLLp//wagnernyuedu/leadershlp/publlcaLlons/flles/CuallLaLlve_8esearchpdf


6!ones k Mlsslon urlfL ln CuallLaLlve 8esearch or Movlng 1oward a SysLemaLlc
8evlew of CuallLaLlve SLudles Movlng 8ack Lo a More SysLemaLlc narraLlve
8evlew elecLronlc verslon 1he CuallLaLlve 8eporL volume 9 number 1 March
2004