Research Abbreviations

What is qualitative research?

Qualitative research is a research approach that studies subjective aspects of social phenomena and human behavior. The objects of qualitative research are phenomena that occur in a given time, place and culture.

Qualitative research addresses issues that cannot be quantified in equations and statistics. On the contrary, the symbols, beliefs, values and human relationships of a given social group are studied.

The qualitative approach requires a broad study of the research object, considering the context in which it is inserted and the characteristics of the society to which it belongs.

Due to the subjective nature of qualitative research, it is necessary to carry out fieldwork. The field is the moment when the researcher inserts himself in the place where the social phenomenon occurs.

For example, if the research object is a residents’ association, the researcher will attend meetings and meet individuals who are involved with the organization.

There are different types of qualitative research and data collection instruments. The choice of paths to be followed in a research depends on the objectives of the study and the methodological possibilities.

Difference between qualitative research and quantitative research

While qualitative research seeks explanations for phenomena in the understanding of human relationships, beliefs and values, quantitative research seeks numerical and statistical results.

The difference between the two approaches can be explained by objectivism in quantitative research and by subjectivism in qualitative research.

This means that quantitative research seeks objective and tangible results, based on experiments, and possible to be quantified. This approach is widely used in the exact and natural sciences.

Qualitative research, on the other hand, does not obtain objective answers to its objects of study.

The research results start from the perceptions of the individuals involved, from the conflicts observed in the field and from the subjective aspects identified. Qualitative research is mostly used in the social and human areas.

An important difference between the two models of scientific investigation is in the researcher’s point of view about the object of study: in the quantitative one, the researcher’s opinion must be excluded; in qualitative terms, the researcher’s opinion can be integrated into the research.

Types of qualitative research

There are different methodologies for carrying out qualitative research. To identify which is the best option for each object of study, it is important to know the characteristics of each one of them.

Ethnographic

Ethnographic research is a methodology generally used by anthropologists to study a society or a social group.

An ethnographic research seeks to understand the traditions, customs, beliefs, habits and values of that collectivity. In addition, it is common for studies to seek to understand the changes in these characteristics over generations.

For this type of research, it is necessary for the researcher to have a very close relationship with the group, so that he can understand the relationships and the perception of the world of these individuals.

Data collection in ethnographic research, in addition to participant observation itself, can be done through in-depth interviews and focus groups.

Focus group is a research technique in which data collection takes place from the group discussion of pre-determined topics.

After data collection, the researcher reports the characteristics of that group, such as the way in which relationships, customs, rituals and traditions are built.

Case study

The case study is a type of research that seeks to analyze a specific situation, in an in-depth and complete way. The object of a case study can be a social group, an organization or a social phenomenon.

In a case study, the researcher seeks to fully understand the object, interpreting the context in which it is inserted and the variables that influence it.

The research sources for a case study can be varied, such as documentary research, participant observation, interviews, focus groups, and so on.

Generally, the researcher analyzes different opinions and points of view of the individuals who participate in the research, which allows him to understand the complexity of the phenomenon studied.

Action research

Action research is a type of qualitative research that aims to solve a problem, or at least identify it.

The identification of problems is carried out by researchers and research participants, who together also propose and elaborate possible solutions.

There is a great deal of interaction between researchers and participants, but unlike other qualitative methodologies, the object of study is not the individuals, but the problems that arise from social interaction.

How to do qualitative research?

There are different ways to do qualitative research, but in general, the step-by-step can be organized as follows:

Definition of the research object: define the problem to be studied;
Bibliographic research: search the literature for other studies that have already studied similar cases;
Definition of methodology and data collection instrument: define which type of qualitative research is most suitable for the object and how the data will be collected, for example, interviews, participant observation, etc.;
Research roadmap and schedule: organize all stages of the research and set deadlines for completing each of the stages;
Data collection: collect data with the defined instruments and organize them systematically to facilitate analysis;
Data analysis: with the data collected, the analysis and interpretation of the information begins. From the data, the researcher elaborates the answers and possible theories for the research problem.

Understand more about bibliographic research, methodology and types of research.

Example of qualitative research

Let’s assume that a school performs in educational assessments higher than the rest of the schools in the municipality. That is, the students of this school have higher grades compared to other students in the city.

A researcher wants to understand the reasons that make this school stand out and defines this question as his research problem.

At first, the researcher does a bibliographic research in order to look for studies that have already addressed this topic in this school and also similar studies carried out in other institutions and cities.

Considering that it is a research that seeks to understand a phenomenon in a specific situation, the researcher chooses the case study as a methodology.

For data collection, it provides for interviews with school directors, focus groups with students and also documentary research on the methodologies used in the school.

With the type of research and data collection instruments defined, the researcher prepares the research script and schedule. These steps are very important for the organization of the process.

Then, data collection begins and the researcher begins to identify some hypotheses that explain the performance of students at that school.

For example, a large part of the students attend classes full time and in the counter shift of classes, have workshops in music, arts, literature and play sports.

Another observation made from the interviews with the teachers is the freedom that the institution’s professionals have to perform their work, which they report gives them greater satisfaction.

After all the information collected, the researcher leaves for analysis and interpretation. At this point, the researcher formulates conclusions that respond to the identified problem.

Qualitative research is usually presented in course conclusion works (TCC), monographs, master’s dissertations, doctoral theses and academic articles.

List of Acronyms Related to Research