QUALITATIVE

RESEARCH

Definition
According to Creswell (1998)
Qualitative research is an inquir process of
understanding based on distinct methodological
traditions of inquiry that explore a social or
human problem. The researcher builds a
complex, holistic picture, analyzes words,
report detailed views of informants, and
conduct the study in a natural setting

Research is

A process of enquiry and

investigation; it is systematic,
methodological and ethical;
research can solve practical
problems and increase
knowledge.

It demands
a commitment to an extensive time in the field,
engagement in a complex, time-consuming process of
data analysis,
writing a long passage, and participation in a form of
social and human science research that does not have
firm guidelines or specific procedures and is evolving
and changing constantly.

Types of research

Research Approaches
Quantitative or Qualitative
Applied or Basic
Deductive or Inductive

Basic
The primary aim of
Basic Research is to
improve knowledge
generally, without any
particular applied
purpose in mind at the
outset.

Applied
It is designed from
the start to apply its
findings to a
particular situation.

Research Philosophies (Approach)

POSITIVISTIC

PHENOMENOLOGICAL

Positivistic approaches to research are

based on research methodologies
commonly used in science. They are
characterized by a detached
approach to research that seeks out
the facts or causes of any social
phenomena in a systematic way.

Phenomenological approaches
however, approach research from the
perspective that human behavior is not
as easily measured as
phenomena in the natural sciences.
Human motivation is shaped by
factors that are not always observable.

Positivistic approaches are founded

on a belief that the study of human
behavior should be conducted
in the same way as studies conducted
in the natural sciences (Collis &
Hussey, 2003, p.52).

This perspective assumes that people

will often
influence events and act in
unpredictable ways
that upset any constructed rules or
identifiable
norms they are often actors on a
human
stage and shape their performance
according

Research Philosophies (Approach)

POSITIVISTIC

PHENOMENOLOGICAL

Positivistic approaches seek to identify,

measure
and evaluate any phenomena and to
provide
rational explanation for it. This
explanation will
attempt to establish causal links and
relationships between the different
elements (or variables) of the subject
and relate them to a particular theory
or practice. There is a belief that
people do respond to stimulus or
forces,
rules (norms) external to themselves
and that these can be discovered,
identified and described using rational,
systematic and deductive processes.

Phenomenological approaches are

particularly concerned with
understanding behavior from the
participants own subjective frames of
reference.
Research methods are chosen
therefore, to try
and describe, translate and explain and
interpret events from the perspectives
of the people who are the subject of
the research.

Research Methodologies
POSITIVISTIC

PHENOMENOLOGICAL

Surveys
Case Studies
Experimental Studies
Action Research
Longitudinal Studies
Ethnography
Cross-sectional Studies
(participant
observation)
Participative Enquiry
Feminist perspective
Grounded Theory

Difference between Qualitative and

Quantitative Research

Qualitative Methods

Quantitative Methods

Methods include focus groups, in-depth interviews, and

reviews of documents for types of themes

Surveys, structured interviews & observations, and

reviews of records or documents for numeric information

Primarily inductive process used to formulate theory or

hypotheses

Primarily deductive process used to test pre-specified

concepts, constructs, and hypotheses that make up a
theory

More subjective: describes a problem or condition from the More objective: provides observed effects (interpreted by
point of view of those experiencing it
researchers) of a program on a problem or condition
Text-based

Number-based

More in-depth information on a few cases

Less in-depth but more breadth of information across a

large number of cases

Unstructured or semi-structured response options

Fixed response options

No statistical tests

Statistical tests are used for analysis

Can be valid and reliable: largely depends on skill and

rigor of the researcher

Can be valid and reliable: largely depends on the

measurement device or instrument used

Time expenditure lighter on the planning end and heavier

during the analysis phase

Time expenditure heavier on the planning phase and

lighter on the analysis phase

Less generalizable

More generalizable