I don't seem to find any scientific references that address this issue.
Hi Mark, There is a plethora of research where attitudes have been explored using qualitative methods. You might want to define the context of the attitudes that you want to explore in order to find some literature. I've attached some papers that might help you out. Best of luck!
http://is.muni.cz/el/1423/jaro2010/GEN507/um/11882482/qualitative_methods_in_social_research.pdf
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967070X07000522
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2550365/
Hi,
Definitly yes, attitude can be studies using qualitative research. Most of the quantitative measures such as Likert scales rests on qualitative approach when it was developed.
Now, the purpose of your study if it has been addressed before in a robust research methods, then you may choose the available scales, otherwise, you can start your own one.
Good luck
I agree with Arun & Muayyad that qualitative methods are quite frequently used to study attitudes. For a detailed look at one way to do this, I recommend "Constructing Grounded Theory" by Charmaz, which is a methods text with examples from the field of chronic illness.
Of course, any qualitative approach will be focused more on meaning and interpretation, rather than the measurement issues (e.g., reliability and validity) that are associated with survey measurements of attitudes.
Thank you Harshvardhan for forwarding our work - it is really a drop in the sea in terms of the qualitative literature about attitudes to something :)
Dear Mark,
The issue is really about 'studying' attitudes, whether it is from a positivist paradigm (objective measurement of attitudes, although some may argue it is never entirely possible) or whether you want to create a more nuanced in-depth understanding about an issue/ perceptions and attitudes about an issue.
If you want the latter there is an enormous body of work out there using qualitative methods...it depends on who's attitudes, about what, etc ?
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