QUALITATIVE RESEARCH IN BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT

What is research

Sage Publications Limited 2008 Michael D. Myers

All Rights Reserved
 Research is the systematic
investigation into and study of
materials, sources, etc, in order to
establish facts and reach new
conclusions

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In a university setting, research is defined
as an original investigation undertaken in
order to contribute to knowledge and
understanding in a particular field
Research is a creative activity leading to
the production of new knowledge
How do we know that the research results
are new?
How do we know that the findings are
original?
How do we know that the research was
conduced in a rigorous manner?
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Qualitative
Research
 Definitions
Qualitative research is a situated activity
that locates the observer in the world. It
consists of a set of interpretive practices
that make the world visible. These
practices transform the world. They turn
the world into a series of representations,
including field notes, interviews,
conversations, photographs, memos and
recordings to the self (Denzin and Lincoln,
2005, p.3)
 Definitions
Qualitative research begins with assumptions, a
worldview, the possible use of a theoretical lens,
and the study of research problems inquiring into
the meaning individuals or groups ascribe to a
social or human problem. To study this problem,
qualitative researchers use an emerging
qualitative approach to inquiry, the collection of
data in a natural setting, sensitive to the people
and places under study, and data analysis that is
inductive and establishes patterns or themes. The
final report or presentation includes the voices of
the participants, the reflexivity of the researcher
and a complex description and interpretation of
the problem, and it extends the literature or
signals a call for action Creswell, p. 36, 2007.
 Qualitative Questions
Qualitative research is concerned with developing explanations
of social phenomena. That is to say, it aims to help us to
understand the world in which we live and why things are the
way they are. It is concerned with the social aspects of our
world and seeks to answer questions about:

Why people behave the way they do

How opinions and attitudes are formed
How people are affected by the events that go on around
them
How and why cultures have developed in the way they have
The differences between social groups

http://www.trentrdsu.org.uk/cms/uploads/Qualitative%20Research.pdf
 Qualitative Questions
Qualitative research is concerned
with finding the answers to questions
which begin with: why? how? in what
way? Quantitative research, on the
other hand, is more concerned with
questions about: how much? how
many? how often? to what extent?

Overview of Qualitative
8
Research
Types of questions using
qualitative research
What is happening
here?
Why is it happening?
How has it come to
happen this way?
When did it happen?

Overview of Qualitative Research 9

QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Not measurements, but WORDS!
Instead of asking how many times
someone purchased an item, you
ask "WHY...?"

Typically the samples are small,

and not "random"
 Qualitative research
Allows the researcher to understand
a problem or phenomenon from the
perspectives of the people it
involves.
Seeks to provide a rich
understanding of a certain research
issue.

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 Why do qualitative
research?
Qualitative research methods are designed to
help researchers understand people and what
they say and do
They allow a researcher to see and
understand the context within which actions
and decisions take place
It is the context that helps to explain why
someone said something or acted the way
they did
Also by talking to people, or reading what they
have written, we can find out what they are or
were thinking

Overview of Qualitative Research 12

 Qualitative Research
Qualitative Researchinvolves
finding out what people think, and
how they feel - or at any rate, what
they say they think and how they say
they feel. This kind of information is
subjective. It involves feelings and
impressions, rather than numbers

Overview of Qualitative
13
Research
 In qualitative methods

Researcher collects data in a real

environment.
Researcher himself/herself is the key
research tool.
Focus of research is a process or activity
itself, not just results of that process or
activity.
Data collected is most often verbal (non-
numerical).
Verbal data analysis (rarely numerical).

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 Qualitative Research
Qualitative research is multimethod in
focus, involving an interpretative,
naturalistic approach to its subject matter.
Qualitative Researchers study things
(people and their thoughts) in their natural
settings, attempting to make sense of, or
interpret, phenomena in terms of the
meanings people bring to them.
 Qualitative Research

Qualitative research involves the

studied use and collection of a
variety of empirical materials - case
study, personal experience, life story,
interview, observational, historical,
and visual texts-that describe routine
and problematic moments and
meanings in individuals lives.
 Popularity of Qualitative
Research
1 Usually much cheaper than
quantitative research
2 No better way than qualitative
research to understand in-depth the
motivations and feelings of consumers
3 Qualitative research can improve the
efficiency and effectiveness of
quantitative research
 Are Qualitative Research
Always Best
Qualitative research seems to promise that we will
avoid statistical techniques and the mechanics of
kinds of quantitative methods (survey research).
Good/at least appropriate (qualitative).
Appropriate (when concerned with exploring with
peoples life histories or every day behavior).
Bad/inappropriate (quantitative). Appropriate
(when people want to vote i.e. survey method)
But choice of method is dependent upon the
researcher. Every method can be superior at its
own place

Overview of Qualitative
18
Research
 Qualitative Research Always
Best
WHEN
When you are well aware about method
(interview. Focus group, observation etc.)
Above mention methods relevant with research
problem and model

Overview of Qualitative
19
Research
 Should Use qualitative
Method
What I am trying to find
What kind of result I want to achieve
How others deal with this topic
What practical consideration my topic render

Overview of Qualitative
20
Research
 1. Steps in Qualitative Research
2. General research question
3. Select relevant site(s) and subjects
4. Collection of relevant data
5. Interpretation of data
6. Conceptual and theoretical work
7. Tighter specification of the research
question
8. Collection of further data
9. Conceptual and theoretical work
10.Write up findings

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 Qualitative vs. quantitative research
Quantitative
Criteria Qualitative Research
Research
Purpose To understand & interpret To test hypotheses, look at
social interactions. cause & effect, & make
predictions.
Group Smaller & not randomly Larger & randomly
Studied selected. selected.
Variables Study of the whole, not Specific variables studied
variables.
Type of Data Words, images, or objects. Numbers and statistics.
Collected
Form of Data Qualitative data such as Quantitative data based
Collected open-ended responses, on precise measurements
interviews, participant using structured &
observations, field notes, & validated data-collection
reflections. instruments.
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 Qualitative vs. quantitative research
Criteria Qualitative Research Quantitative Research
Type of Data Identify patterns, features,
Analysis themes.
Objectivity Subjectivity is expected.
and
Subjectivity
Role of Researcher & their biases
Researcher may be known to participants
in the study, & participant
characteristics may be known
to the researcher.
Results Particular or specialized
findings that is less
generalizable.
Scientific Exploratory or bottomup: the Confirmatory or top-down: the
Method researcher generates a new
hypothesis and theory from
the data collected.
Identify statistical relationships.
Objectivity is critical.
Researcher & their biases are
not known to participants in the
study, & participant
characteristics are deliberately
hidden from the researcher
(double blind studies).
Generalizable findings that can
be applied to other populations.
researcher tests the hypothesis
and theory with the data.
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 Qualitative vs. quantitative research
Quantitative
Criteria Qualitative Research
Research
View of Human Dynamic, situational, social, & Regular & predictable.
Behavior personal.
Most Common Explore, discover, & construct. Describe, explain, & predict.
Research
Objectives
Focus Wide-angle lens; examines the Narrow-angle lens; tests a
breadth & depth of specific hypotheses.
phenomena.
Nature of Study behavior in a natural Study behavior under
Observation environment. controlled conditions; isolate
causal effects.
Nature of Multiple realities; subjective. Single reality; objective.
Reality
Final Report Narrative report with Statistical report with
contextual description & direct correlations, comparisons of
quotations from research means, & statistical
participants. significance of findings. 25
 Triangulation

The word triangulation has at least two meanings

Combining quantitative and qualitative research methods
in the one study
Using two or more techniques to gather data
The key idea is to look at the same topic but from
different angles
It is relatively common for qualitative researchers to
use the second form of triangulation, less so the first
Perhaps one of the best ways to triangulate
qualitative and quantitative methods is to involve
multiple researchers who have the required
expertise

Overview of Qualitative Research 26

Strengths
Good for examining feelings and
motivations
Allows for complexity and depth of
issues
Weaknesses
Provides insights
Cant extrapolate to the whole population
Volume of data
Complexity of analysis

Time-consuming nature of the clerical efforts

require
 Limitations of Qualitative
Research
1. Not representative of the population that is of
interest to the researches
2. The multitude of individuals who, without formal
training, profess to be experts in the field