Which are different methods used in qualitative research?
Hi Muhammad,
In the context of social science qualitative research, generally there are various methods which include:
1) Case Study - knowledge contribution on phenomena through studying in depth within case(s) example of phenomena e.g. individual person, an event, a group or an institution
2) Ethnography - this method focusing on sociology of meaning by performing close field observation of socio-cultural phenomena within a community
3) Phenomenology - this method illustrates structures of experience as they present themselves to consciousness without recourse to deduction, theory or assumptions from other disciplines
4) Historical - this method focusing on systematic collection & objective evaluation of data from past occurrences to test propositions pertaining to causes, effects or trends of events that might help explain present events & prediction of future events.
5) Action Research - meant for practitioners to improve the quality of their own practice through various data analyses
6) Content Analysis - meant for researchers to quantify & analyze the presence, meanings and relationships of certain words, concepts within text or sets of texts. Then make inferences about the messages within the texts, the writer(s), the audience and even the culture etc.
7) Grounded Theory - this is an inductive approach to develop general theory based on / from specific data rather than the other way round
Note: different scholars / researchers might have different opinions on the methods inclusion / exclusion or even method definition. Suggest you can take a look on the following books:
Wishing you all the best.
Regards,
Fung
Hello Muhammad,
as our colleague Fung stated there are several methods, and selecting the most suitable one depends on your research problem. However, you should investigate methods in order to know which one is the best for you. Short introduction about qualitative methods, together with recommended readings you can find in book (available for downloading from Internet):
Lisa M. Given (Editor), The SAGE Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods, Sage Publications, Inc, Thousand Oaks, 2008.
Moreover, several researchers stated that it is completely acceptable to mix methods based on your needs. Actually, qualitative methods allow researchers to be more creative than quantitative, and that attracts me as software engineer to use them.
You should find your way in using qualitative methods, and enjoy while working with them.
Regards,
Zeljko
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