Qualitative Research Method and Its Complementation Report

Abstract

The paper focuses on qualitative and quantitative research methods and how they complement each other. It pays special attention to explaining the qualitative method of research by suggesting some topics which are suitable for exploring the method. It also looks at the appropriate method of selection of the participants its, strengths and weaknesses.

Introduction

Research can be defined as a form of investigation done in a systematic manner, guided by established rules and guidelines, and aimed at producing new knowledge or confirming some predictions. Most research activities follow the scientific method, which starts with the development of a hypothesis, collection of data, analysis of the data, and the interpretation of results (McBurney, 2009). There are two main types of research namely the qualitative and quantitative research methods. The qualitative method deals with giving meaning to a social phenomenon and explaining the question of why something happens, and its meaning (Creswell, 2003). The quantitative method deals with numbers in a population of study and how the numbers relate to each other. Both qualitative and quantitative methods complement each other, and therefore, it is almost impossible to separate them. They are actually seen as a continuum, rather than two separate entities. In this assignment, I will choose two topics that are most suited for exploring the qualitative method of research and explain why they are suitable, and the sampling of participants for the research (Silverman, 2004).

Discussion

The qualitative research method is mainly used in topics whose main objective is to explain some behavior in terms of why. Qualitative research, therefore, is mainly interested in the meaning of a social phenomenon or some behavior. In qualitative research, in-depth interviews and probing are very crucial, because they help in unveiling the hidden meaning of behavior. The sample in qualitative research is selected in a random manner, to ensure that the sample is as representative as possible. Selecting samples that are not representative of the whole population may make the results biased, and therefore not valid (Babbie, 2010. p.217).

One topic which can be suitable for exploring qualitative research methods is consumer behavior. One can be interested in knowing why brand A of a product is consumed more by a population than brand B of the same product. For example, a bread manufacturing company may be making two types of bread, A and B. The price may be the same, but the sales for type A may be higher than that for type B. This topic is suitable for the qualitative method because the main aim is to establish the reason for consumers’ preference of type A bread to type B. The method would however be informed by quantitative data, regarding the number of people consuming type A bread and those consuming type B.

Another topic suitable for the qualitative method of research is in the field of education. A ministry of education in a country may be interested in knowing why many parents take their children to boarding schools instead of day schools. The topic is suitable for the qualitative method because the focus of the research is explaining some already observed behavior through quantitative data.

Selection of participants

Participants in research are referred to as respondents. In qualitative research, the respondents may be randomly selected to form a sample that is representative of the whole population under investigation. In the two topics mentioned above the participants could be selected using a simple random procedure. This procedure involves having the sampling frame which in this case will be the number of people consuming bread type A and the parents taking their children to boarding schools. Once the sampling frame is obtained, the next step would be to use a computer to randomly select respondents to be interviewed. One strength of this method is that it gives every member of the population under investigation an equal chance of being selected to participate in the research. It also requires minimum information regarding the population and it is also very easy to interpret the results. If well conducted, the results may be generalized for the whole population (Creswell, 2003).

One weakness of this method of participant selection is that it is always hard to obtain a complete sampling frame that is up to date. In cases where the sampling frame is not complete or up to date, the results may be biased. The other weakness is that the method may not be good for large populations. It is also time-consuming and requires a lot of financial resources (Creswell, 2003).

Conclusion

The qualitative research method aims at explaining the meaning of social phenomena and the reasons why people do what they do. It uses in-depth interviews, observation, and probing to get the meaning of certain behavior. One way of selecting participants in qualitative research is simple random sampling, which ensures that every member of the population being investigated has an equal chance of being selected to participate in the research. However, it may be limited by the fact that the sampling frame may not be complete or up to date, which may produce inaccurate results which may not be generalized for the whole population.

Reference List

Babbie, E.R.(2010). 12^th ed.The Practice of Social Research. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.p.217.

Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed method approaches. Teller Road, CA: SAGE.

McBurney, D.H.(2009). 8^th ed. Research Methods. Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.

Silverman, D.(2004).2^nd ed. Qualitative research: theory, method and practice. Teller Road, CA: SAGE.