Qualitative Research Methods Quotes

In business, qualitative measurements and quantitative measurements are equally important.

The complexities of validating qualitative research need not be due to a weakness of qualitative methods, but on the contrary, may rest upon their extraordinary power to reflect and conceptualize the nature of the phenomenon investigated, to capture the complexity of the social reality. The validation of qualitative research becomes intrinsically linked to the development of a theory of social reality.

Finally, another large-scale study [of false rape allegations] was conducted in Australia, with the 850 rapes reported to the Victoria police between 2000 and 2003 (Heenan & Murray, 2006). Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, the researchers examined 812 cases with sufficient information to make an appropriate determination, and found that only 2.1% of these were classified as false reports. All of these complainants were then charged or threatened with charges for filing a false police report." Lonsway, K. A., Archambault, J., & Lisak, D. (2009). False reports: Moving beyond the issue to successfully investigate and prosecute non-stranger sexual assault. The Voice, 3(1), 1-11.

I confess that everything I oppose, so to speak, in my texts, everything that I deconstruct—presence, voice, living, voice and so on—is exactly what I am after in life. I love the voice, I love presence, I love…; there is no love, no desire without it. So, I'm constantly denying, so to speak, in my life what I'm saying in my books or my teaching….

It is entirely correct and completely in order to say, “You can't do anything with philosophy.” The only mistake is to believe that with this, the judgment concerning philosophy is at an end. For a little epilogue arises in the form of a counter-question: even if we can't do anything with it, may not philosophy in the end do something with us, provided that we engage ourselves with it?

[…] a student in our class asked disdainfully why quantitative methodologists do not openly criticize qualitative methods. He scoffed, 'They don't even mention it. But in courses in qualitative methods, quantitative methods always come up.' […] I pointed out that the lack of critical remarks and the absence of any mention of qualitative research in 'methods' courses indicate the hegemony of the quantitative approach. Were not his statistics professors making a strong statement about the place of qualitative methods by omitting them entirely? Qualitative researchers, then, have to legitimate their perspective to students in order to break the methodological silence coming from the other side.

In order to understand the spiritual background typical of every non-modem civilization, it is necessary to retain the idea that the opposition between historical times and 'prehistoric' or 'mythological' times is not the relative opposition proper to two homogeneous parts of the same time frame, but rather the qualitative and substantial opposition between times (or experiences of time) that are not of the same kind. Traditional man did not have the same experience of time as modem man; he had a supertemporal sense of time and in this sensation lived every form of his world, Thus, the modem researchers of 'history' at a given point encounter an interruption of the series and an incomprehensible gap, beyond which they cannot construct any 'certain' and meaningful historical theory; they can only rely upon fragmentary, external, and often contradictory elements — unless they radically change their method and mentality.

Whether it’s anthropology or sociology or geography, social scientists are often asked – no, required – early in their careers, to choose between humanistic and scientific approaches to the subject matter of their discipline and between collecting and analyzing qualitative or quantitative data. Even worse, they are taught to equate science with quantitative data and quantitative analysis and humanism with qualitative data and qualitative analysis. This denies the grand tradition of qualitative approaches in all of science, from astronomy to zoology. When Galileo first trained his then-brand-new telescope on the moon, he noticed what he called lighter and darker areas. The large dark spots had, Galileo said, been seen from time immemorial and so he said, “These I shall call the ‘large’ or ‘ancient’ spots.” He also wrote that the moon was “not smooth, uniform, and precisely spherical” as commonly believed, but “uneven, rough, and full of cavities and prominences,” much like the Earth. No more qualitative description was ever penned

Collection Methods in Qualitative Studies Where was the setting of the study? What was the rationale for choosing the setting? Who were the participants and what were their roles and characteristics? Why were they chosen? What data collection methods were used? What role did the researcher adopt within the setting? Who collected the data and were they qualified for their roles? How were data collectors trained? Was the training adequate? Was the process of the fieldwork adequately reported? How did the event unfold? Was data collection continued until saturation was achieved? Were the researchers’ assumptions or biases acknowledged?

In other studies, the philosophy is made explicit by a special section in the study—typically in the description of the characteristics of qualitative inquiry often found in the methods section. Here the inquirer talks about ontology, epistemology, and other assumptions explicitly and details how they are exemplified in the study. The

to focus on scale and causation. Designers develop an agile mind to easily flip between divergence and convergence. Likewise, researchers must develop this same agility to flip between qualitative and quantitative. Innovation expert and management theorist Roger Martin called this the “opposable mind,” (Martin, 2007) and noted it is abductive logic (not deductive or inductive) that characterizes

Figure 2: Empirical and Perception-based Qualitative and Quantitative Research

book Research Design: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches (J. W. Cresswell, 1994), or his work Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research co-authored with Ann Carroll Klassen, Vicki Plano Clark, and Katherine Clegg Smith (2007), or his short paper focusing on health research specifically (J. Cresswell, Klassen, Plano Clark, & Clegg Smith, 2011).

The typical practical reasons why you might choose to mix methods include: 1. Time does not permit in-depth qualitative research 2. Time does not permit in-depth quantitative research 3. Negotiating access to participants is challenging 4. Finding a large data set is challenging

Hammersley (2014) suggests that qualitative researchers aim to describe causation in one of two ways: 1. Create plausible models of causation using imaginative tools like metaphors literary devices, and thought experiments to explain how a thing might work in many different contexts, in abstract language 2. Conduct a deep analysis of observed, empirical data to generate

Quantitative researchers focus more on scale and causation, and like to have replicability and precise measurement. This differs significantly from qualitative researchers, who concern themselves with describing richness of context, the nature of change, and having empathy for participants.

unconsciously held objectivist ontology. If they stop focusing solely on scale and causation, and focus instead on coherence and customers, they begin to feel better equipped to make decisions about their products or services. However, most people are simply unaware that there is a qualitative, inductive logic that is just as legitimate as a quantitative, deductive method.

quantitative research will measure pervasiveness of things we already know, and qualitative research will uncover things we don’t know much about.

Commenting on the hostile reaction to an article of his,"' Roy M. Poses, a specialist in analysis of clinical research, remarks: "Most distressing ... was the influence of a certain kind of post-modern thinking on publications about qualitative methods in respected medical and health care journals. These contained arguments that there is no external reality, and scoffed at scientists' attempts to be objective as possible as futile and foolish.

Mixed methods research is a research design with philosophical assumptions as well as methods of inquiry. As a methodology, it involves philosophical assumptions that guide the direction of the collection and analysis of data and the mixture of qualitative and quantitative approaches in many phases of the research process (J. W. Cresswell & Plano Clark, 2007, p. 5).

The person must utilize adequate quantitative and/or qualitative reasoning in order to solve both ill and well defined problems for his or her assigned tasks.

Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and method (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

As it turns out, this desire to be loved and to belong is not unique to emotionally needy writers spoiled by their parents. It is inherent to us all. It helps make us human. You'll find evidence of this in Brene Brown's research. She has spent the last twenty years studying the characteristics of people who, regardless of life circumstances, exhibit resilience. Using a qualitative research method known as grounded theory research, Brown conducted thousands of interviews with hundreds of people spanning all sorts of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds to conclude that "a deep sense of love and belonging is an irreducible need for all women, men, and children." "We are biologically, cognitively, physically, and spiritually wired to love, to be loved, and to belong," Brown writes in The Gifts of Imperfection. "When those needs are not met, we don't function as we are meant to. We break. We fall apart. We hurt others. We get sick." Her research concluded that the key to connection is no mystery: "I realized that only one thing separated the men and women who felt a deep sense of love and belonging from the people who seemed to be struggling for it. That one thing was the belief in their worthiness. If we want to fully experience love and belonging, we must believe that we are worthy of love and belonging." In fact, Brown defines wholehearted living as "a way of engaging with the world from a place of worthiness." It's important to note that Brown uncovered these findings while researching the corrosive effects of shame. Shame is the ultimate connection killer, for it tells us that our flaws make us unworthy of love. Like many researchers and psychologists, Brown draws a distinction between shame and guilt, noting that the former focuses on being while the latter focuses on behavior. While guilt says, "I did something bad," shame says, "I am bad." Studies suggest a healthy dose of guilt can actually inspire us to make healthier choices, but shame, as a rule, proves counterproductive. For people of faith, and especially for Christians, this research raises some important questions. Does any claim to our inherent worthiness contradict religious teaching and the witness of our sacred texts? Can we deal honestly with our sins without internalizing shame? Does our belief system require that we see ourselves as nothing more than loathsome insects, deserving only to be swept by tsunami waves into the fires of hell? Or can we, too, engage the world from a place of worthiness? Many of us have been talked out of that hope by a parent, a Sunday school teacher, a pastor, or perhaps even our very own fragile selves. In some way or another, many of us have become convinced that we will never be worthy of love- because of our sin, because of our humanity, and because of something that happened in a mysterious garden a long time ago.

the core elements of the method are: the creation of a cross-functional team, or a set of teams that break down the traditional silos of marketing and product development and combine talents; the use of qualitative research and quantitative data analysis to gain deep insights into user behavior and preferences; and the rapid generation and testing of ideas, and the use of rigorous metrics to evaluate—and then act on—those results.

One type of nonexperimental quantitative research is causal-comparative research in which the investigator compares two or more groups in terms of a cause (or independent variable) that has already happened.

And while the details of how it is implemented vary somewhat from company to company, the core elements of the method are: the creation of a cross-functional team, or a set of teams that break down the traditional silos of marketing and product development and combine talents; the use of qualitative research and quantitative data analysis to gain deep insights into user behavior and preferences; and the rapid generation and testing of ideas, and the use of rigorous metrics to evaluate—and then act on—those results.

I am surprised at how often researchers fail to draft a title early in the development of their projects. In my opinion, the working or draft title becomes a major road sign in research—a tangible idea that the researcher can keep refocusing on and changing as the project goes on (see Glesne & Peshkin, 1992).

Good, sound research projects begin with straightforward, uncomplicated thoughts that are easy to read and understand.