There are a few ways to determine if a study is qualitative, such as examining the research question, type of data collected, and how data is collected and analyzed. The principal goal of qualitative research is to understand people’s experiences, perceptions, beliefs, behaviors, or meanings, not to measure variables numerically.
Qualitative research is generally used to answer questions such as “why?”, “how?” and “what is the experience?” by the collection of non-numerical data through interviews, observations, focus groups, documents or open-ended responses.
The fastest method, I think, to tell if something is a qualitative study is to ask yourself, “Is the researcher trying to measure something or understand something in depth?”
Key Features
Probably a study is qualitative if it:
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Explores experiences, beliefs, perception or behavior
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Uses mostly non-numeric data
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Asks open-ended research inquiries
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Looks at the individuals in their social or real-world situation
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Uses relatively flexible research methodologies
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Emphasizes depth and meaning rather than statistical generalization
The most common qualitative designs are phenomenology, ethnography, grounded theory, story research, and qualitative descriptive investigations.
Methods of Data Collection
Qualitative investigations typically gather data using:
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Semi-structured or in-depth interviews
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Focus groups
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Non-participant or participant observation
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Open-ended questions
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Field notes, written material, or documents
Methods for collecting qualitative data include interviews, focus groups, and observations.
One practical tip is not to recognize research from the word “survey” alone. Depending on whether a survey uses open-ended responses or numerical/closed questions, it can produce either qualitative or quantitative data.
Data Analysis
Another big clue is the way researchers interpret their findings.
Qualitative researchers can transcribe interviews or observations, code the information, detect recurring patterns, and produce themes or interpretations. According to NIST, qualitative analysis is the process of coding rich data and then extracting themes from the coded data.
In the methodology section, watch for words such as:
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Theme analysis
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Content analysis
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Programing
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Grounded theory analysis
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Narrative analysis
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Interpretive reading
Qualitative vs. Quantitative
The main difference is:
Qualitative research is concerned with meaning, experiences, and explanations. It typically relies on non-numerical information.
Quantitative research involves measurement, quantities, relationships or differences and uses numerical data and statistical analysis.
For example, “How many students experience academic stress?” is mainly quantitative. “How do students describe their experiences of academic stress?” is qualitative.
However, some studies integrate both approaches and are considered to be mixed-methods research.
Identification Checklist
When I read a study report, I would check these 5 things:
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What is the question?
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What information was collected?
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How was the information gathered?
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Data analyses
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Are the findings more themes and narratives or numbers and statistics?
If the answers are continually leaning towards experiences, textual data, interviews, coding and themes, then the study is certainly qualitative.
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are all the interviews qualitative?
No. Interviews can ask structured questions that provide quantitative data, but qualitative research often uses open-ended and semi-structured interviews.
2. Are statistics used in qualitative research?
Its main analysis is often interpretive, non-statistical. Descriptive numerical information can nevertheless exist within a qualitative article.
3. Can a questionnaire be qualitative in nature?
Yes. Qualitative data can be obtained using a questionnaire with open-ended questions.
4. What is a mixed-methods study?
Mixed-methods research is the purposeful integration of qualitative and quantitative methodologies in order to more fully answer a research topic.
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