What defines qualitative research?

Qualitative research is characterized by its focus on understanding human experiences, behaviors, and interactions through detailed and nuanced data collection methods like interviews, focus groups, and observations. This approach allows researchers to explore complex phenomena in-depth and gather rich, descriptive information that captures the subtleties of individuals’ thoughts and feelings. Rather than aiming to quantify data or test hypotheses through numerical analysis, qualitative research seeks to uncover underlying meanings and patterns, making it particularly valuable in fields like social sciences, health, and education.

The emphasis on experiences and perspectives distinguishes qualitative research from methodologies that rely heavily on quantitative data or statistical analysis. Through open-ended questioning and interactive data collection, researchers can attain insights that might be missed by purely quantitative approaches, which focus primarily on numbers and numerical relationships.