What is qualitative research?
"Qualitative research is a type of research that explores and provides deeper insights into real-world problems.[1] Instead of collecting numerical data points or intervene or introduce treatments just like in quantitative research, qualitative research helps generate hypotheses as well as further investigate and understand quantitative data."
"Qualitative research at its core, ask open-ended questions whose answers are not easily put into numbers such as ‘how’ and ‘why’.[2] Due to the open-ended nature of the research questions at hand, qualitative research design is often not linear in the same way quantitative design is.[2] One of the strengths of qualitative research is its ability to explain processes and patterns of human behavior that can be difficult to quantify.[3] Phenomena such as experiences, attitudes, and behaviors can be difficult to accurately capture quantitatively, whereas a qualitative approach allows participants themselves to explain how, why, or what they were thinking, feeling, and experiencing at a certain time or during an event of interest."
- Qualitative Study - Steven Tenny; Grace D. Brannan; Janelle M. Brannan; Nancy C. Sharts-Hopko.This article details what qualitative research is, and some of the methodologies used.
Examples of Qualitative Research
- Quantitative vs Qualitative ChartChart showing examples of quantitative vs. qualitative research.
EBooks on Qualitative Research Methodology
Causal Inference: The Mixtape by ISBN: 9780300251685Publication Date: 2021-01-26An accessible, contemporary introduction to the methods for determining cause and effect in the social sciences Scott Cunningham introduces students and practitioners to the methods necessary to arrive at meaningful answers to the questions of causation, using a range of modeling techniques and coding instructions for both the R and the Stata programming languages.
The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Design by ISBN: 9781526484321Publication Date: 2022-10-06Qualitative research design is continually evolving. It is not only more established in disciplines beyond the traditional social sciences in which it is a standard choice, but also just as impacted by the changes in what data, technologies, and approaches researchers are using. This Handbook takes readers through the foundational theories, functions, strategies, and approaches to qualitative research design, before showcasing how it negotiates different data and research environments and produces credible, actionable impact beyond the study.
Decolonizing data : unsettling conversations about social research methods by ISBN: 1487530099Publication Date: 2022 U of Toronto PressDecolonizing Data yields valuable insights into the decolonization of research methods by addressing and examining health inequalities from an anti-racist and anti-oppressive standpoint.
Physical Library Books
Qualitative Data Analysis by ISBN: 9781506353074Publication Date: 2019-01-22Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña's Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook is the authoritative text for analyzing and displaying qualitative research data.
Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design by ISBN: 9781506330204Publication Date: 2017-01-25John W. Creswell and new co-author Cheryl N. Poth explore the philosophical underpinnings, history, and key elements of five qualitative inquiry approaches: narrative research, phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, and case study.
The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research by Call Number: H62 .H2455 2018ISBN: 9781483349800Publication Date: 2017-02-15The substantially updated and revised Fifth Edition of this landmark handbook presents the state-of-the-art theory and practice of qualitative inquiry.
Qualitative Research Practice by Call Number: H62 .Q35 2014ISBN: 9781446209110Publication Date: 2014-01-23Why use qualitative methods? What kinds of questions can qualitative methods help you answer? How do you actually do rigorous and reflective qualitative research in the real world? Written by a team of leading researchers associated with NatCen Social Research (the National Centre for Social Research) this textbook leads students and researchers through the entire process of qualitative research from beginning to end - moving through design, sampling, data collection, analysis and reporting. In this fully revised second edition you will find: A practical account of how to carry out qualitative research which recognises a range of current approaches and applications A brand new chapter on ethics A brand new chapter on observational research Updated advice on using software when analysing your qualitative data New case studies which illustrate issues you may encounter and how problems have been tackled by other researchers. This book is an ideal guide for students, practitioners and researchers faced with the challenges of doing qualitative research in both applied and academic settings in messy real-life contexts.
The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research Ethics by ISBN: 9781473970977Publication Date: 2018-03-29This handbook is a much-needed and in-depth review of the distinctive set of ethical considerations which accompanies qualitative research.
