The term qualitative research was used to describe an alternative to quantitative research and was coined as a critique of the latter [...].
The longer the development [of the qualitative approach] proceeded in various social sciences fields, the clearer its meaning became. This research approach is no longer defined ex negativo (as the opposite of quantitative), [...] but it is characterized by several features: Qualitative research uses text as empirical material (instead of numbers), starts from the notion of the social construction of realities under study, and is interested in the perspectives of participants, in everyday practices and everyday knowledge referring to the issue under study.
Methods should be appropriate to th[e] issue and should be open enough to allow an understanding of a process or relation. In their handbook, Introduction: The Discipline and Practice of Qualitative Research, Denzin and Lincoln offer a definition:
Qualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world. It consists of a set of interpretive, material practices that make the world visible. These practices transform the world. They turn the world into a series of representations, including field notes, interviews, conversations, photographs, recordings, and memos to the self. At this level, qualitative research involves an interpretive, naturalistic approach to the world. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. (2011, p. 3).
All of the above is borrowed from: Flick, U. (2018):
Designing Qualitative Research by
This concise introduction to qualitative research design will help you to think through the questions you need to ask when embarking on your research. Uwe Flick discusses each stage of the process of designing qualitative research,from turning an idea into a research question, selecting a sample, choosing an appropriate strategy, developing a conceptual framework and data source, and preparing for data collecting and analysis. This book can be used alongside other titles in the SAGE Qualitative Research Kit but can equally be used on its own. It is an invaluable companion to students and scholars embarking on research in in the social sciences, health, business and education.
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