What do you think is the importance of qualitative research in the following fields?

Qualitative research is in-depth research using a range of techniques, which aims to understand why people think, feel, react and behave in the way that they do. Samples tend to be small in the case of qualitative interviewing and even focus groups, because the aim is to generate concepts, strategies, or, for example, an appreciation of processes that govern groups or institutions. Qualitative research can pretty much be adapted to any research context that isn’t about knowing ‘how many’. The benefit of qualitative approaches are that you do not start with a ‘hypothesis’ that needs to be proved, which can be very rigid. Rather, it is an open-ended approach that can be adapted and changed while the research is ongoing, which enhances the quality of the data and insights generated.

There are many different research methods that come under the rubric of ‘qualitative’, and many of these are undergoing constant innovation. This section will briefly summarise four of these – ethnography, interviewing, focus groups and action research - before going on to explore how they may be used for a variety of contexts and purposes.

Ethnography. This approach requires the researcher to immerse themselves in the context of the research, called a ‘natural setting’, which may be an organisation, a group, or a geographical location – the possibilities are endless. They may just observe what is happening, or be more directly involved in talking to people (an ‘observer participant’ or ‘participant observer’). The researcher takes notes, called a ‘field diary', which forms the data of the research project and from which ideas and concepts can be generated through analysis. Ethnography can be conducted over a few days to a few years, though few can do the latter because of the resource implications. It can be effectively combined with other methods for the purposes of reliability and validity (‘triangulation’).

Qualitative Interviewing. This is perhaps by far the most common of the qualitative methods. Interviews are normally one-to-one and involve an in-depth exploration of the interviewee's thoughts, feelings and understandings. They may take anywhere between a half an hour to two hours or more, although the one-hour interview is perhaps the norm. Sample sizes, as already observed, tend to be small - anything from 3-12 for an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), to 20 or more for standard qualitative thematic coding. Interviewing is expensive, because it takes time to set up, and works best when interviews are transcribed because it better preserves the nuances of the interview than memory. Analysis (either done manually or through NVivo for example) is time-consuming because of the sheer volume of data generated. The quality of the data generated is extremely detailed, nuanced and valuable, however, and one qualitative sample can generate new insights over a number of years.

Focus Groups. This is a form of research where a moderator leads a discussion amongst a group who share a need, lifestyle, or social characteristic, for some specific research aims. It is most commonly used for social or market research and is often viewed as more cost-effective than qualitative interviewing or ethnography. One downside is that participants can be led by each other (the ‘group mind’) and what they say may not be an accurate representation of reality. Focus groups can be hosted by various platforms – they need not be in person.

Action Research. This is research in which the researcher and researched are not distinct. It actively aims to work to improve or change the research community’s circumstances or practices. Examples might be midwives conducting research to improve their midwifery practice, or psychotherapists working with co-researchers to look at and change an area of their psychotherapeutic work. It can be used in a more light-touch way, such as in policy change that involves those at whom the policy is directed.

So what can qualitative research be used for?

Qualitative research is frequently used in academic research, but is also essential for the voluntary and not-for-profit sector as well as more commercial applications. It can: help you understand the motivations and perspectives of clients or customers (why they come to you and what they need); be used to pilot ideas and develop qualitative research and evaluation; generate original insights, concepts and ideas; and be used to generate and tell amazing stories about what you do. It can be used to understand the cognitive and emotional or affective landscape of society, institutions or urban contexts (for example, through the use of psychogeographical approaches).

Statistics remains the gold standard of social and market research, and it's easy to see why. Policy-makers and business want to be able to track universal trends in order to target the wide cross-section of society.

However, we live in a society where mass or macro-subjectivities no longer entirely holds (for example through defined classes, consumer groups). Nor is opinion generated and formed by mass media or political parties. Rather society seems to operate on the basis of ever-changing micro-subjectivities, often geographically influenced, and certainly dictated by the ever- changing tides of social media. This creates challenges for the social and market researcher. The recent UK elections showed the limits of quantitative polls to track trends, with many completely missing the mark as the gap between people’s stated and real intentions were under-explored. New research suggests this was because pollsters did not take a representative enough sample. Qualitative research methods are exactly the kinds of approaches that could have been utilised to understand people’s subjectivities in this example, as well as shed a critical spotlight on the processes by which data is collected.

What do you think is the importance of qualitative research in the following fields of arts?

What do you think is the importance of quantitative research in your field of specialization?

What do you think is the importance of qualitative research in sports?