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At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to;
Define the meaning of qualitative research.
Identify the importance of Qualitative research to daily life.
Understand the purpose of qualitative research
Distinguish Quantitative Research vs. Qualitative Research
Differentiate open ended to close ended questions.
WHAT IS QUALITATIVE RESEARCH?
Qualitative Research is a scientific method of observation to gather non- numerical data. It refers to the meanings, concepts, characteristics, metaphors, symbols and description of phenomena, and not to their counts or measures.
Nature of Qualitative Research
❖ Qualitative Research is a process of naturalistic inquiry that seeks in-depth understanding of social phenomena within their natural setting. It relies on the direct experiences of human beings as meaning- making agents in their everyday lives.
❖ Qualitative Research seeks to answer the “Why”, “In what ways”, “What”, and “How” of phenomena as opposed to the “To what extent”, “Is there a significant difference/relationship” and “How many” of phenomena. Qualitative analysis calculates “meaning” while quantitative analysis calculates “mean”.
Rather than by logical and statistical procedures, Qualitative Research uses multiple systems of inquiry for the study of human phenomena such as biography, case study, historical analysis, discourse analysis, ethnography, grounded theory and phenomenology.
Purpose of Qualitative Research Qualitative Research
-It promotes a deep, holistic understanding of a particular phenomenon.
How Qualitative Research Came into Existence
Human beings have always attempted to understand the world where they live. Before the19th century, questions about human existence were answered from the
Bible, the Church, and from Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle who believed that the process of “knowing” was absolute, systematic and logical.
It was during the late 18th century when the pursuit of knowledge experienced a scientific crisis. Other philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, William Dilthey,
Edmund Husserl and Maurice Merleau-Ponty believed that life consists of what we experience in our activities and reflections as we live out our personal histories and that we live in a matrix of complex relationships with others.
Therefore, humans cannot be studied as isolated units but must be understood in the context of their “lived world” or “cultural and social connections”. The seminal work of these philosophers paved the way for the birth of naturalistic or qualitative research.
In short, Qualitative Research has a long history in sociology and has been used within it for as long as the field has existed. This type of research has long appealed to social scientists to investigate the meanings people attribute to their behavior, actions, and interactions with others.
Importance of Qualitative Research in Daily Life
Qualitative Research unveils individual’s perception, feelings and attitudes about a certain topic or issue
Information is precise and reliable since it promotes collaboration of the researcher and the members of the community.
Qualitative Research stimulates people’s interdependence or interpersonal relationship.
Qualitative Research puts premium or high value on people’s thinking or point of view conditioned by their personal views.
Qualitative Research gains an in-depth understanding of underlying reasons, opinions and motivations.
Qualitative Research allows the researcher to immerse in the community where the participants live.
Qualitative Research versus Quantitative Research
Qualitative research is concerned with in- depth understanding which is purely described in words, phrases or sentences.
Quantitative research is concerned with measurement and numbers. It is dependent on statistical tools and numerical cases.
Qualitative research is primary exploratory research. It is used to gain understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. It provides insights into the problem or it helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research. Quantitative research is used to quantify the problem using rating scale and other research parameters. It is used to quantify reasons, opinions and motivations.
Qualitative research uses interviews, participant observations, focus group, discussions, rapid appraisal, document analysis and content analysis in gathering data. Quantitative research employs survey, questionnaire, checklist, paper-pencil test and experimentation in gathering data.
In terms of data gathering activities, Qualitative research is inductive while quantitative research is deductive. In terms of discussing the gathered data, both Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research employ inductive and deductive methods. In other words, inductive and deductive methods are not mutually exclusive with each other in research.
In discussing the Qualitative Research data, arguments based on experience or observation are best expressed inductively. While arguments based on laws, rules, or other widely accepted principles are best expressed deductively.
Inductive method of discussing the data is also known as “bottom-up” method. Deductive method of discussing the date is also called Top-down method.
In discussing the Quantitative Research data, inductive method is used if the researcher discusses first the indicators that receive the lowest and highest means before he explains the overall mean. If the researcher starts his discussion from the overall mean before going to the lowest and highest means, deductive method is employed.
Qualitative research is making “kwento” out of a certain phenomenon. Open-ended questions are used. Pictures, words, sentences, paragraphs, compositions, narrations and short stories are used in qualitative research.
Quantitative research is doing “kwenta” out of a certain phenomenon. Closed-ended questions are employed. Numbers, scales, hypotheses, calculations, computations and statistics are applied in quantitative research.
In what way is qualitative research inductive?
Qualitative Research is inductive since the researcher starts with the observations and the new theory or insight is generated towards the end of the research process. The researcher starts from a scratch, a completely open mind without any preconceived ideas of what will be found.
In Qualitative Research, the researcher begins from gathering all the small or specific details of the subject before he will give his generalization towards the end of the research process. This means that NO CONCLUSION will be formulated.
NEW INSIGHTS OR THEORIES GAINED will be used instead of conclusions.
Why is Qualitative Research Subjective?
Qualitative Research is primarily subjective as it seeks to understand human behavior and reasons that govern such behavior using the personal views of the researcher. Data analysis is influenced by the personal experiences and opinions of the researcher. The researcher uses open- ended questions in gathering data. There is no CRITERIA used by the researcher in discussing the data.
The aim of qualitative research is to generate a new theory based on the gathered data.
Why is Quantitative Research Deductive?
Quantitative Research is deductive as it starts from an already constructed theory or principle. The researcher begins with a hypothesis or already constructed theory. He focuses on exploring the previously researcher phenomenon from different perspectives. The aim of quantitative research is to test hypothesis or theory.
In Quantitative Research, the researcher begins with an expected pattern “that is tested against observations”. In other words, the researcher explores a known theory or phenomenon and tests if that theory is valid in a given circumstance. The reasoning starts with a theory and leads to a new hypothesis. This hypothesis is put into the test by confronting it with observations that either lead to a confirmation or a rejection of the hypothesis.
Quantitative Research is objective as it only seeks precise measurements and analysis of target concepts to answer inquiries. The researcher employs standard criteria in analyzing data. He doesn’t go beyond what is found in the set research parameters. He employs closed-ended research instrument in gathering data. Conclusion is formulated towards the end of the research process.
OPEN-ENDED QUESTIONS
Open-ended questions are defined as the free- form survey questions that allow a participant to answer in open-text format. In other words, responses to these questions are not limited to a set of options.
Guide questions for the interviews and focus group discussions are examples of open-ended questions. These questions elicit data needed by a qualitative research.
Examples of Open-Ended Questions
1. What were your experiences during the consecutive strikes o powerful typhoon in Bicol? How did you handle the trauma caused by this typhoon?
2. Was the support of the National and Local Government enough for your basic needs? Did they conduct stress debriefing for those who were traumatized?
CLOSED-ENDED QUESTIONS
CLOSED-ENDED QUESTIONS are questions that can only be answered by selecting from a limited number of options, usually “multiple-choice”, “yes or no”, or a rating scale (e.g. from strongly agree to strongly disagree).
CLOSED-ENDED QUESTIONS are the foundation of all statistical analysis techniques applied on questionnaires and surveys for quantitative research.
Examples of Closed-Ended Questions
1. Are you in favor of the implementation of
Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program in senior high school students in both public and private schools nationwide?
Very Much Favor
Very Favor
Moderately favor
Not Favor
Very Much Not Favor
2. To what extent are you affected by the strikes of consecutive strong earthquakes in North Cotabato?
4 Very Much Affected
3 Very Affected
2 Moderately Affected
1 Not Affected
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