Learn Qualitative Methods

What are qualitative methods?

These are things you do all the time, only applied to research.

• Describe a behavior (observational methods)

• Talk to people to understand an issue (interviews)

• Encourage conversation (focus groups)

• Document with photos (photovoice)

• Categorize or group (data coding)

• Summarize (data matrices and analyses)

• Show someone what you learned (data visualization)

Often considered a research field that is the opposite of numbers (quantitative methods), that couldn't be further from the truth.  The difference is often simply the source of data -- with qualitative sources including text, pictures, and sound.   Technically, those sources can be analyzed quantitatively, too (e.g., word counts, pixels, decibels), but if you're trying to understand meaning, context, barriers, or supports - particularly in health fields -- look to qualitative methods as a go-to for your toolkit.

Essentially, it's summarizing themes to better understand an issue.  It's a great way to make the world a better place.  

Read

• Jackson, R.L., Drummond, D.K., Camara, S. (2007).  What is qualitative research?  Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 8(1), 21-28.