Qualitative research is different from quantitative research. In the former, a researcher investigates the human experiences, the nature, the behaviors, and the effectiveness of a phenomenon mostly in a natural setting. In the latter, one quantifies research by obtaining measurable data in terms of numbers, length, period, among other measurable aspects. Qualitative research is subjective in that researchers learn from the participants what is important to them and why, what does or does not work and why.
The best data collection method for qualitative research is the use of interviews. Interviewing a respondent is the best way for a person to give descriptions of things, events, places, people, and situations and attach to those descriptions feelings and human experiences (Berkwits & Inui, 1998). The use of interviews also helps in the establishment of underlying issues for any given situation and, therefore, helps in the establishment of a hypothesis to investigate meaningful issues. The formulation of hypothesis when preceded by a qualitative study captures all issues pertinent to a study.
Qualitative studies are the best when one wants to investigate a social phenomenon, which does not have absolute causes or remedies. For instance, in the investigation of “the effectiveness of crisis management plans in different companies” there are no definite terms. Through a qualitative study, a researcher can establish the fundamentals of an effective crisis management plan.
Going by Creswell (2007) and the tutorials from Walden University (waldenu.edu), the best strategies in conducting qualitative research would be to ask questions that call upon the respondents to divulge more a lot of information. Rather than asking close-ended questions, one ought to ask open-ended questions that allow respondents to give details.
References
Berkwits, M. & Inui, T. S. (1998). Making use of qualitative research techniques. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 13(3): 195–199.
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Research Tutorials: Qualitative research Retrieved 10 Oct 2014 from http://streaming.waldenu.edu/hdp/researchtutorials/qualitative/index.html
