Businesses often require vast amounts of meaningful data to improve product development processes or enhance existing products and services. Qualitative research can help researchers understand what customers want when little theory is available to guide consumer research projects. Understanding qualitative research can give you insight into what people think and feel about a product or service.In this article, we explain the meaning of qualitative research, discuss its uses and benefits and share eight types of qualitative research.
What is qualitative research?
Qualitative research is a research process that aims to understand the subjective experiences of people. It uses nonprobability sampling, which means open-ended questions with no predetermined assumptions. Researchers analyze the data they collect through a process of coding by themes and patterns that emerge from this analysis.There are different types of qualitative research methods according to the various data collection techniques that researchers use. Examples include interviews, focus groups and observation. These methods help gather information on the participants' perceptions, feelings and opinions about an issue or problem researchers are investigating.Related: Guide to Qualitative Market ResearchWhen to use qualitative research
Qualitative research may be a reliable approach when you want to understand a topic in depth and from the perspective of the people involved. Qualitative research can also help you understand the meaning and significance of an experience or one event. If you want to understand the context of an experience, such as where it takes place, qualitative research may be your best option.Qualitative research is appropriate for:- Learning about something that isn't well-defined or measurable in numbers
- Learning how people interpret events or experiences rather than just knowing what happened
- Understanding how people feel about a topic instead of only knowing their opinions
8 types of qualitative research
There are several types of qualitative research, including:1. Action research
In action research, the researcher participates in a situation and collects data on it. The researcher uses this data to analyze the situation and collects more data if they want to adjust the scope of the study or its results. Action research is cyclical, meaning each step involves collaboration between the study participants and the researcher. You can conduct action research at any level, including the individual, group or community level.This type is appropriate when you want to learn how something works within its natural environment. For example, if you want to understand people's challenges while using technology at work, you can collaborate with teams in different departments to study this topic.Related: Qualitative Researcher Skills: Definition and Examples2. Phenomenological
The phenomenological method is a qualitative research technique that seeks to understand the meaning that people give to their experiences. This type of research uses the phenomenological inquiry method, which focuses on how individuals experience events.Phenomenological researchers focus on subjective understanding and biases to look at what people say about themselves, rather than on objective interpretations of what participants say. This helps researchers better understand people's experiences.Related: Qualitative Observation: Definition, Types and Examples3. Ethnographic
Ethnographic research is a qualitative method that focuses on understanding human behavior. Ethnographers are interested in a phenomenon's social context while learning about cultural norms and beliefs.In ethnographic research, the researcher frequently lives with the research subjects and studies their culture. Ethnographers interview the most knowledgeable people about their roles and responsibilities within the society or community. Data collection and analysis occur simultaneously, as researchers record their observations in field notes. These notes serve as raw data for future analysis.Related: What Is Qualitative Forecasting? Definition and Methods4. Case study
Case studies are in-depth examinations of people or groups of people. They help researchers understand an intervention's context, process and outcomes. Case studies also help researchers understand the cause-and-effect relationships between variables and the change process over time.For a case study to qualify as qualitative research, the researcher must focus on the meaning of experiences to subjects. They then use content analysis to evaluate the data from case studies.Related: What Is Research Methodology? (Why It's Important and Types)5. Narrative model
Narrative research is a popular qualitative research method because it helps you understand how people live and make decisions. You collect data about subjects by tracking them as they go through different stages of your study. By understanding these experiences through observations of participants over time, businesses can create buyer personas for their products and services based on these narratives.Researchers explore a few participants' experiences by collecting information on their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors during specific situations. This method allows researchers to gather data from several sources at one time to identify themes or patterns. The narrative research method involves collecting stories from participants to share later. This process involves asking questions like:- What was happening?
- How did it feel?
- Why was this important?
- What did you do next?