Characteristics of a Qualitative Research

1. Human understanding and interpretation

2. Active, powerful, and forceful
3. Multiple research approaches and methods
4. Specificity to generalization

5. Contextualization
6. Diversified data in real-life situations
7. Abounds with words and visuals
8. Internal analysis

Characteristics of a Qualitative Research

1. Human understanding and interpretation
Data analysis results show an individual’s mental, social, and spiritual understanding of the world. Hence, through their
worldviews, you come to know what kind of human being he or she is, including his or her values, beliefs, likes, and dislikes.
2. Active, powerful, and forceful
A lot of changes occur continuously in every stage of a qualitative research. As you go through the research process, you
find the need to amend or rephrase interview questions and consider varied ways of getting answers, like shifting from mere
speculating to traveling to places for data gathering. You are not fixated to a certain plan. Rather, you are inclined to discover
your qualitative research design as your study gradually unfolds or reveals itself in accordance with your research objectives.
3. Multiple research approaches and methods
Qualitative research allows you to approach or plan your study in varied ways. You are free to combine this with quantitative
research and use all gathered data and analysis techniques. Being a multi-method research, a qualitative study applies to
all research types: descriptive, exploratory, explanatory, case study, etc.
4. Specificity to generalization
Specific ideas in a qualitative research are directed to a general understanding of something. It follows an inductive or
scientific method of thinking, where you start thinking of particular or specific concept that will eventually lead you to more
complex ideas such as generalizations or conclusions.

5. Contextualization
A quantitative research involves all variables, factors, or conditions affecting the study. Your goal here is to understand
human behavior. Thus, it is crucial for you to examine the context or situation of an individual’s life—the who, what, why,
how, and other circumstances—affecting his or her way of life.
6. Diversified data in real-life situations
A qualitative researcher prefers collecting data in a natural setting like observing people as they live and work, analyzing
photographs or videos as they genuinely appear to people, and looking at classrooms unchanged or adjusted to people’s
intentional observations.
7. Abounds with words and visuals
Words, words, and more words come in big quantity in this kind of research. Data gathering through interviews or library
reading, as well as the presentation of data analysis results, is done verbally. In some cases, it resorts to quoting some
respondents’ answers. Likewise, presenting people’s world views through visual presentation (i.e., pictures, videos,
drawings, and graphs) are significantly used in a qualitative research.
8. Internal analysis
Here, you examine the data yielded by the internal traits of the subject individuals (i.e., emotional, mental, spiritual
characteristics). You study people’s perception or views about your topic, not the effects of their physical existence on your
study. In case of objects (e.g., books and artworks) that are subjected to a qualitative research, the investigation centers on
underlying theories or principles that govern these materials and their usefulness to people.

Types of Qualitative Research

1. Case Study
This type of qualitative research usually takes place in the field of social care, nursing, psychology, rehabilitation centers,
education, etc. This involves a long-time study of a person, group, organization, or situation. It seeks to find answers to
why such thing occurs to the subject. Finding the reason/s behind such occurrence drives you to also delve into
relationships of people related to the case under study. Varieties of data collection methods such as interviews,
questionnaires, observations, and documentary analysis are used in a case study.
2. Ethnography
Falling in the field of anthropology, ethnography is the study of a particular cultural group to get a clear understanding of
its organizational set-up, internal operation, and lifestyle. A particular group reveals the nature or characteristics of their
own culture through the world perceptions of the cultural group’s members.
3. Phenomenology
Coming from the word “phenomenon,” which means something known through sensory experience, phenomenology
refers to the study of how people find their experiences meaningful. Its primary goal is to make people understand their
experiences about death of loved ones, care for handicapped persons, friendliness of people, etc. In doing so, other
people will likewise understand the meanings attached to their experiences. Those engaged in assisting people to
manage their own lives properly often do this qualitative kind of research.
4. Content and Discourse Analysis
Content analysis is a method of quantitative research that requires an analysis or examination of the substance or content
of the mode of communication (letters, books, journals, photos, video recordings, SMS, online messages, emails, audio-
visual materials, etc.) used by a person, group, organization, or any institution in communicating. A study of language
structures used in the medium of communication to discover the effects of sociological, cultural, institutional, and
ideological factors on the content makes it a discourse analysis. In studying the content or structures of the material, you
need a question or a set of questions to guide you in your analysis.
5. Historical Analysis
Central to this qualitative research method is the examination of primary documents to make you understand the
connection of past events to the present time. The results of your content analysis will help you specify phenomenological
changes in unchanged aspects of society through the years.
6. Grounded Theory
Grounded theory takes place when you discover a new theory to underlie your study at the time of data collection and
analysis. Through your observation on your subjects, you will happen to find a theory that applies to your current study.
Interview, observation, and documentary analysis are the data gathering techniques for this type of qualitative research.

Advantages or Strengths of Qualitative Research

1. It adopts a naturalistic approach to its subject matter, which means that those involve in the research understand things based on
what they find meaningful.
2. It promotes a full understanding of human behavior or personality traits in their natural setting.
3. It is instrumental for positive societal changes.
4. It engenders respect for people’s individuality as it demands the researcher’s careful and attentive stand toward people’s world views.
5. It is a way of understanding and interpreting social interactions.
6. It increases the researcher’s interest in the study as it includes the researcher’s experience or background knowledge in interpreting
verbal and visual data.
7. It offers multiple ways of acquiring and examining knowledge about something.

Disadvantages or Weaknesses of Qualitative Research

1. It involves a lot of researcher’s subjectivity in data analysis.
2. It is hard to know the validity or reliability of the data.
3. Its open-ended questions yield “data overload” that requires long-time analysis.
4. It is time-consuming.
5. It involves several processes, which results greatly depend on the researcher’s views or interpretations.

Directions: Name the type of qualitative research best suited for the following topics.
1. The Mangyans’ Burial Practices
2. Relatives of Typhoon Victims
3. The Effectiveness of the K–12 Curriculum
4. Spiderman: The Very First Film in the 21st Century
5. Philippines’ Political Party System: Then and Now
6. Filipino Caregivers in Japan
7. Travails of Senior Citizens at the LRT/MRT Stations
8. The Lone Grade VI Speed Reader of UST High School
9. Grade 11 Science Textbook
10. Student Activism Since the Marcos Era