weakness of qualitative research brainly

23 Advantages and Disadvantages of Qualitative Research

Investigating methodologies. Taking a closer look at ethnographic, anthropological, or naturalistic techniques. Data mining through observer recordings. This is what the world of qualitative research is all about. It is the comprehensive and complete data that is collected by having the courage to ask an open-ended question.

Print media has used the principles of qualitative research for generations. Now more industries are seeing the advantages that come from the extra data that is received by asking more than a “yes” or “no” question.

The advantages and disadvantages of qualitative research are quite unique. On one hand, you have the perspective of the data that is being collected. On the other hand, you have the techniques of the data collector and their own unique observations that can alter the information in subtle ways.

That’s why these key points are so important to consider.

What Are the Advantages of Qualitative Research?

1. Subject materials can be evaluated with greater detail. There are many time restrictions that are placed on research methods. The goal of a time restriction is to create a measurable outcome so that metrics can be in place. Qualitative research focuses less on the metrics of the data that is being collected and more on the subtleties of what can be found in that information. This allows for the data to have an enhanced level of detail to it, which can provide more opportunities to glean insights from it during examination.

2. Research frameworks can be fluid and based on incoming or available data. Many research opportunities must follow a specific pattern of questioning, data collection, and information reporting. Qualitative research offers a different approach. It can adapt to the quality of information that is being gathered. If the available data does not seem to be providing any results, the research can immediately shift gears and seek to gather data in a new direction. This offers more opportunities to gather important clues about any subject instead of being confined to a limited and often self-fulfilling perspective.

3. Qualitative research data is based on human experiences and observations. Humans have two very different operating systems. One is a subconscious method of operation, which is the fast and instinctual observations that are made when data is present. The other operating system is slower and more methodical, wanting to evaluate all sources of data before deciding. Many forms of research rely on the second operating system while ignoring the instinctual nature of the human mind. Qualitative research doesn’t ignore the gut instinct. It embraces it and the data that can be collected is often better for it.

4. Gathered data has a predictive quality to it. One of the common mistakes that occurs with qualitative research is an assumption that a personal perspective can be extrapolated into a group perspective. This is only possible when individuals grow up in similar circumstances, have similar perspectives about the world, and operate with similar goals. When these groups can be identified, however, the gathered individualistic data can have a predictive quality for those who are in a like-minded group. At the very least, the data has a predictive quality for the individual from whom it was gathered.

5. Qualitative research operates within structures that are fluid. Because the data being gathered through this type of research is based on observations and experiences, an experienced researcher can follow-up interesting answers with additional questions. Unlike other forms of research that require a specific framework with zero deviation, researchers can follow any data tangent which makes itself known and enhance the overall database of information that is being collected.

6. Data complexities can be incorporated into generated conclusions. Although our modern world tends to prefer statistics and verifiable facts, we cannot simply remove the human experience from the equation. Different people will have remarkably different perceptions about any statistic, fact, or event. This is because our unique experiences generate a different perspective of the data that we see. These complexities, when gathered into a singular database, can generate conclusions with more depth and accuracy, which benefits everyone.

7. Qualitative research is an open-ended process. When a researcher is properly prepared, the open-ended structures of qualitative research make it possible to get underneath superficial responses and rational thoughts to gather information from an individual’s emotional response. This is critically important to this form of researcher because it is an emotional response which often drives a person’s decisions or influences their behavior.

8. Creativity becomes a desirable quality within qualitative research. It can be difficult to analyze data that is obtained from individual sources because many people subconsciously answer in a way that they think someone wants. This desire to “please” another reduces the accuracy of the data and suppresses individual creativity. By embracing the qualitative research method, it becomes possible to encourage respondent creativity, allowing people to express themselves with authenticity. In return, the data collected becomes more accurate and can lead to predictable outcomes.

9. Qualitative research can create industry-specific insights. Brands and businesses today need to build relationships with their core demographics to survive. The terminology, vocabulary, and jargon that consumers use when looking at products or services is just as important as the reputation of the brand that is offering them. If consumers are receiving one context, but the intention of the brand is a different context, then the miscommunication can artificially restrict sales opportunities. Qualitative research gives brands access to these insights so they can accurately communicate their value propositions.

10. Smaller sample sizes are used in qualitative research, which can save on costs. Many qualitative research projects can be completed quickly and on a limited budget because they typically use smaller sample sizes that other research methods. This allows for faster results to be obtained so that projects can move forward with confidence that only good data is able to provide.

11. Qualitative research provides more content for creatives and marketing teams. When your job involves marketing, or creating new campaigns that target a specific demographic, then knowing what makes those people can be quite challenging. By going through the qualitative research approach, it becomes possible to congregate authentic ideas that can be used for marketing and other creative purposes. This makes communication between the two parties to be handled with more accuracy, leading to greater level of happiness for all parties involved.

12. Attitude explanations become possible with qualitative research. Consumer patterns can change on a dime sometimes, leaving a brand out in the cold as to what just happened. Qualitative research allows for a greater understanding of consumer attitudes, providing an explanation for events that occur outside of the predictive matrix that was developed through previous research. This allows the optimal brand/consumer relationship to be maintained.

What Are the Disadvantages of Qualitative Research?

1. The quality of the data gathered in qualitative research is highly subjective. This is where the personal nature of data gathering in qualitative research can also be a negative component of the process. What one researcher might feel is important and necessary to gather can be data that another researcher feels is pointless and won’t spend time pursuing it. Having individual perspectives and including instinctual decisions can lead to incredibly detailed data. It can also lead to data that is generalized or even inaccurate because of its reliance on researcher subjectivisms.

2. Data rigidity is more difficult to assess and demonstrate. Because individual perspectives are often the foundation of the data that is gathered in qualitative research, it is more difficult to prove that there is rigidity in the information that is collective. The human mind tends to remember things in the way it wants to remember them. That is why memories are often looked at fondly, even if the actual events that occurred may have been somewhat disturbing at the time. This innate desire to look at the good in things makes it difficult for researchers to demonstrate data validity.

3. Mining data gathered by qualitative research can be time consuming. The number of details that are often collected while performing qualitative research are often overwhelming. Sorting through that data to pull out the key points can be a time-consuming effort. It is also a subjective effort because what one researcher feels is important may not be pulled out by another researcher. Unless there are some standards in place that cannot be overridden, data mining through a massive number of details can almost be more trouble than it is worth in some instances.

4. Qualitative research creates findings that are valuable, but difficult to present. Presenting the findings which come out of qualitative research is a bit like listening to an interview on CNN. The interviewer will ask a question to the interviewee, but the goal is to receive an answer that will help present a database which presents a specific outcome to the viewer. The goal might be to have a viewer watch an interview and think, “That’s terrible. We need to pass a law to change that.” The subjective nature of the information, however, can cause the viewer to think, “That’s wonderful. Let’s keep things the way they are right now.” That is why findings from qualitative research are difficult to present. What a research gleans from the data can be very different from what an outside observer gleans from the data.

5. Data created through qualitative research is not always accepted. Because of the subjective nature of the data that is collected in qualitative research, findings are not always accepted by the scientific community. A second independent qualitative research effort which can produce similar findings is often necessary to begin the process of community acceptance.

6. Researcher influence can have a negative effect on the collected data. The quality of the data that is collected through qualitative research is highly dependent on the skills and observation of the researcher. If a researcher has a biased point of view, then their perspective will be included with the data collected and influence the outcome. There must be controls in place to help remove the potential for bias so the data collected can be reviewed with integrity. Otherwise, it would be possible for a researcher to make any claim and then use their bias through qualitative research to prove their point.

7. Replicating results can be very difficult with qualitative research. The scientific community wants to see results that can be verified and duplicated to accept research as factual. In the world of qualitative research, this can be very difficult to accomplish. Not only do you have the variability of researcher bias for which to account within the data, but there is also the informational bias that is built into the data itself from the provider. This means the scope of data gathering can be extremely limited, even if the structure of gathering information is fluid, because of each unique perspective.

8. Difficult decisions may require repetitive qualitative research periods. The smaller sample sizes of qualitative research may be an advantage, but they can also be a disadvantage for brands and businesses which are facing a difficult or potentially controversial decision. A small sample is not always representative of a larger population demographic, even if there are deep similarities with the individuals involve. This means a follow-up with a larger quantitative sample may be necessary so that data points can be tracked with more accuracy, allowing for a better overall decision to be made.

9. Unseen data can disappear during the qualitative research process. The amount of trust that is placed on the researcher to gather, and then draw together, the unseen data that is offered by a provider is enormous. The research is dependent upon the skill of the researcher being able to connect all the dots. If the researcher can do this, then the data can be meaningful and help brands and progress forward with their mission. If not, there is no way to alter course until after the first results are received. Then a new qualitative process must begin.

10. Researchers must have industry-related expertise. You can have an excellent researcher on-board for a project, but if they are not familiar with the subject matter, they will have a difficult time gathering accurate data. For qualitative research to be accurate, the interviewer involved must have specific skills, experiences, and expertise in the subject matter being studied. They must also be familiar with the material being evaluated and have the knowledge to interpret responses that are received. If any piece of this skill set is missing, the quality of the data being gathered can be open to interpretation.

11. Qualitative research is not statistically representative. The one disadvantage of qualitative research which is always present is its lack of statistical representation. It is a perspective-based method of research only, which means the responses given are not measured. Comparisons can be made and this can lead toward the duplication which may be required, but for the most part, quantitative data is required for circumstances which need statistical representation and that is not part of the qualitative research process.

The advantages and disadvantages of qualitative research make it possible to gather and analyze individualistic data on deeper levels. This makes it possible to gain new insights into consumer thoughts, demographic behavioral patterns, and emotional reasoning processes. When a research can connect the dots of each information point that is gathered, the information can lead to personalized experiences, better value in products and services, and ongoing brand development.

Qualitative Study

Affiliations.

• 1 University of Nebraska Medical Center
• 2 GDB Research and Statistical Consulting
• 3 GDB Research and Statistical Consulting/McLaren Macomb Hospital
• PMID: 29262162
• Bookshelf ID: NBK470395

Qualitative research is a type of research that explores and provides deeper insights into real-world problems. Instead of collecting numerical data points or intervene or introduce treatments just like in quantitative research, qualitative research helps generate hypotheses as well as further investigate and understand quantitative data. Qualitative research gathers participants' experiences, perceptions, and behavior. It answers the hows and whys instead of how many or how much. It could be structured as a stand-alone study, purely relying on qualitative data or it could be part of mixed-methods research that combines qualitative and quantitative data. This review introduces the readers to some basic concepts, definitions, terminology, and application of qualitative research.

Qualitative research at its core, ask open-ended questions whose answers are not easily put into numbers such as ‘how’ and ‘why’. Due to the open-ended nature of the research questions at hand, qualitative research design is often not linear in the same way quantitative design is. One of the strengths of qualitative research is its ability to explain processes and patterns of human behavior that can be difficult to quantify. Phenomena such as experiences, attitudes, and behaviors can be difficult to accurately capture quantitatively, whereas a qualitative approach allows participants themselves to explain how, why, or what they were thinking, feeling, and experiencing at a certain time or during an event of interest. Quantifying qualitative data certainly is possible, but at its core, qualitative data is looking for themes and patterns that can be difficult to quantify and it is important to ensure that the context and narrative of qualitative work are not lost by trying to quantify something that is not meant to be quantified.

However, while qualitative research is sometimes placed in opposition to quantitative research, where they are necessarily opposites and therefore ‘compete’ against each other and the philosophical paradigms associated with each, qualitative and quantitative work are not necessarily opposites nor are they incompatible. While qualitative and quantitative approaches are different, they are not necessarily opposites, and they are certainly not mutually exclusive. For instance, qualitative research can help expand and deepen understanding of data or results obtained from quantitative analysis. For example, say a quantitative analysis has determined that there is a correlation between length of stay and level of patient satisfaction, but why does this correlation exist? This dual-focus scenario shows one way in which qualitative and quantitative research could be integrated together.

Examples of Qualitative Research Approaches

Ethnography

Ethnography as a research design has its origins in social and cultural anthropology, and involves the researcher being directly immersed in the participant’s environment. Through this immersion, the ethnographer can use a variety of data collection techniques with the aim of being able to produce a comprehensive account of the social phenomena that occurred during the research period. That is to say, the researcher’s aim with ethnography is to immerse themselves into the research population and come out of it with accounts of actions, behaviors, events, etc. through the eyes of someone involved in the population. Direct involvement of the researcher with the target population is one benefit of ethnographic research because it can then be possible to find data that is otherwise very difficult to extract and record.

Grounded Theory

Grounded Theory is the “generation of a theoretical model through the experience of observing a study population and developing a comparative analysis of their speech and behavior.” As opposed to quantitative research which is deductive and tests or verifies an existing theory, grounded theory research is inductive and therefore lends itself to research that is aiming to study social interactions or experiences. In essence, Grounded Theory’s goal is to explain for example how and why an event occurs or how and why people might behave a certain way. Through observing the population, a researcher using the Grounded Theory approach can then develop a theory to explain the phenomena of interest.

Phenomenology

Phenomenology is defined as the “study of the meaning of phenomena or the study of the particular”. At first glance, it might seem that Grounded Theory and Phenomenology are quite similar, but upon careful examination, the differences can be seen. At its core, phenomenology looks to investigate experiences from the perspective of the individual. Phenomenology is essentially looking into the ‘lived experiences’ of the participants and aims to examine how and why participants behaved a certain way, from their perspective . Herein lies one of the main differences between Grounded Theory and Phenomenology. Grounded Theory aims to develop a theory for social phenomena through an examination of various data sources whereas Phenomenology focuses on describing and explaining an event or phenomena from the perspective of those who have experienced it.

Narrative Research

One of qualitative research’s strengths lies in its ability to tell a story, often from the perspective of those directly involved in it. Reporting on qualitative research involves including details and descriptions of the setting involved and quotes from participants. This detail is called ‘thick’ or ‘rich’ description and is a strength of qualitative research. Narrative research is rife with the possibilities of ‘thick’ description as this approach weaves together a sequence of events, usually from just one or two individuals, in the hopes of creating a cohesive story, or narrative. While it might seem like a waste of time to focus on such a specific, individual level, understanding one or two people’s narratives for an event or phenomenon can help to inform researchers about the influences that helped shape that narrative. The tension or conflict of differing narratives can be “opportunities for innovation”.

Research Paradigm

Research paradigms are the assumptions, norms, and standards that underpin different approaches to research. Essentially, research paradigms are the ‘worldview’ that inform research. It is valuable for researchers, both qualitative and quantitative, to understand what paradigm they are working within because understanding the theoretical basis of research paradigms allows researchers to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the approach being used and adjust accordingly. Different paradigms have different ontology and epistemologies . Ontology is defined as the "assumptions about the nature of reality” whereas epistemology is defined as the “assumptions about the nature of knowledge” that inform the work researchers do. It is important to understand the ontological and epistemological foundations of the research paradigm researchers are working within to allow for a full understanding of the approach being used and the assumptions that underpin the approach as a whole. Further, it is crucial that researchers understand their own ontological and epistemological assumptions about the world in general because their assumptions about the world will necessarily impact how they interact with research. A discussion of the research paradigm is not complete without describing positivist, postpositivist, and constructivist philosophies.

Positivist vs Postpositivist

To further understand qualitative research, we need to discuss positivist and postpositivist frameworks. Positivism is a philosophy that the scientific method can and should be applied to social as well as natural sciences. Essentially, positivist thinking insists that the social sciences should use natural science methods in its research which stems from positivist ontology that there is an objective reality that exists that is fully independent of our perception of the world as individuals. Quantitative research is rooted in positivist philosophy, which can be seen in the value it places on concepts such as causality, generalizability, and replicability.

Conversely, postpositivists argue that social reality can never be one hundred percent explained but it could be approximated. Indeed, qualitative researchers have been insisting that there are “fundamental limits to the extent to which the methods and procedures of the natural sciences could be applied to the social world” and therefore postpositivist philosophy is often associated with qualitative research. An example of positivist versus postpositivist values in research might be that positivist philosophies value hypothesis-testing, whereas postpositivist philosophies value the ability to formulate a substantive theory.

Constructivist

Constructivism is a subcategory of postpositivism. Most researchers invested in postpositivist research are constructivist as well, meaning they think there is no objective external reality that exists but rather that reality is constructed. Constructivism is a theoretical lens that emphasizes the dynamic nature of our world. “Constructivism contends that individuals’ views are directly influenced by their experiences, and it is these individual experiences and views that shape their perspective of reality”. Essentially, Constructivist thought focuses on how ‘reality’ is not a fixed certainty and experiences, interactions, and backgrounds give people a unique view of the world. Constructivism contends, unlike in positivist views, that there is not necessarily an ‘objective’ reality we all experience. This is the ‘relativist’ ontological view that reality and the world we live in are dynamic and socially constructed. Therefore, qualitative scientific knowledge can be inductive as well as deductive.”

So why is it important to understand the differences in assumptions that different philosophies and approaches to research have? Fundamentally, the assumptions underpinning the research tools a researcher selects provide an overall base for the assumptions the rest of the research will have and can even change the role of the researcher themselves. For example, is the researcher an ‘objective’ observer such as in positivist quantitative work? Or is the researcher an active participant in the research itself, as in postpositivist qualitative work? Understanding the philosophical base of the research undertaken allows researchers to fully understand the implications of their work and their role within the research, as well as reflect on their own positionality and bias as it pertains to the research they are conducting.

Data Sampling

The better the sample represents the intended study population, the more likely the researcher is to encompass the varying factors at play. The following are examples of participant sampling and selection:

Purposive sampling- selection based on the researcher’s rationale in terms of being the most informative.

Criterion sampling-selection based on pre-identified factors.

Convenience sampling- selection based on availability.

Snowball sampling- the selection is by referral from other participants or people who know potential participants.

Extreme case sampling- targeted selection of rare cases.

Typical case sampling-selection based on regular or average participants.

Data Collection and Analysis

Qualitative research uses several techniques including interviews, focus groups, and observation. [1] [2] [3] Interviews may be unstructured, with open-ended questions on a topic and the interviewer adapts to the responses. Structured interviews have a predetermined number of questions that every participant is asked. It is usually one on one and is appropriate for sensitive topics or topics needing an in-depth exploration. Focus groups are often held with 8-12 target participants and are used when group dynamics and collective views on a topic are desired. Researchers can be a participant-observer to share the experiences of the subject or a non-participant or detached observer.

While quantitative research design prescribes a controlled environment for data collection, qualitative data collection may be in a central location or in the environment of the participants, depending on the study goals and design. Qualitative research could amount to a large amount of data. Data is transcribed which may then be coded manually or with the use of Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software or CAQDAS such as ATLAS.ti or NVivo.

After the coding process, qualitative research results could be in various formats. It could be a synthesis and interpretation presented with excerpts from the data. Results also could be in the form of themes and theory or model development.

Dissemination

To standardize and facilitate the dissemination of qualitative research outcomes, the healthcare team can use two reporting standards. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research or COREQ is a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. The Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research (SRQR) is a checklist covering a wider range of qualitative research.

Examples of Application

Many times a research question will start with qualitative research. The qualitative research will help generate the research hypothesis which can be tested with quantitative methods. After the data is collected and analyzed with quantitative methods, a set of qualitative methods can be used to dive deeper into the data for a better understanding of what the numbers truly mean and their implications. The qualitative methods can then help clarify the quantitative data and also help refine the hypothesis for future research. Furthermore, with qualitative research researchers can explore subjects that are poorly studied with quantitative methods. These include opinions, individual's actions, and social science research.

A good qualitative study design starts with a goal or objective. This should be clearly defined or stated. The target population needs to be specified. A method for obtaining information from the study population must be carefully detailed to ensure there are no omissions of part of the target population. A proper collection method should be selected which will help obtain the desired information without overly limiting the collected data because many times, the information sought is not well compartmentalized or obtained. Finally, the design should ensure adequate methods for analyzing the data. An example may help better clarify some of the various aspects of qualitative research.

A researcher wants to decrease the number of teenagers who smoke in their community. The researcher could begin by asking current teen smokers why they started smoking through structured or unstructured interviews (qualitative research). The researcher can also get together a group of current teenage smokers and conduct a focus group to help brainstorm factors that may have prevented them from starting to smoke (qualitative research).

In this example, the researcher has used qualitative research methods (interviews and focus groups) to generate a list of ideas of both why teens start to smoke as well as factors that may have prevented them from starting to smoke. Next, the researcher compiles this data. The research found that, hypothetically, peer pressure, health issues, cost, being considered “cool,” and rebellious behavior all might increase or decrease the likelihood of teens starting to smoke.

The researcher creates a survey asking teen participants to rank how important each of the above factors is in either starting smoking (for current smokers) or not smoking (for current non-smokers). This survey provides specific numbers (ranked importance of each factor) and is thus a quantitative research tool.

The researcher can use the results of the survey to focus efforts on the one or two highest-ranked factors. Let us say the researcher found that health was the major factor that keeps teens from starting to smoke, and peer pressure was the major factor that contributed to teens to start smoking. The researcher can go back to qualitative research methods to dive deeper into each of these for more information. The researcher wants to focus on how to keep teens from starting to smoke, so they focus on the peer pressure aspect.

The researcher can conduct interviews and/or focus groups (qualitative research) about what types and forms of peer pressure are commonly encountered, where the peer pressure comes from, and where smoking first starts. The researcher hypothetically finds that peer pressure often occurs after school at the local teen hangouts, mostly the local park. The researcher also hypothetically finds that peer pressure comes from older, current smokers who provide the cigarettes.

The researcher could further explore this observation made at the local teen hangouts (qualitative research) and take notes regarding who is smoking, who is not, and what observable factors are at play for peer pressure of smoking. The researcher finds a local park where many local teenagers hang out and see that a shady, overgrown area of the park is where the smokers tend to hang out. The researcher notes the smoking teenagers buy their cigarettes from a local convenience store adjacent to the park where the clerk does not check identification before selling cigarettes. These observations fall under qualitative research.

If the researcher returns to the park and counts how many individuals smoke in each region of the park, this numerical data would be quantitative research. Based on the researcher's efforts thus far, they conclude that local teen smoking and teenagers who start to smoke may decrease if there are fewer overgrown areas of the park and the local convenience store does not sell cigarettes to underage individuals.

The researcher could try to have the parks department reassess the shady areas to make them less conducive to the smokers or identify how to limit the sales of cigarettes to underage individuals by the convenience store. The researcher would then cycle back to qualitative methods of asking at-risk population their perceptions of the changes, what factors are still at play, as well as quantitative research that includes teen smoking rates in the community, the incidence of new teen smokers, among others.

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• Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res
• v.20(6); Nov-Dec 2015

Challenges in conducting qualitative research in health: A conceptual paper

Hamidreza khankeh.

1 Department of Health in Disaster and Emergencies and Nursing, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Tehran, Iran and Department of Clinical Sciences and Education, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden

Maryam Ranjbar

2 Department of Psychology in Institute of Humanities and Social Studies, and Social Determinants of Health Research Center in University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Tehran, Iran

Davoud Khorasani-Zavareh

3 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Uremia University of Medical Sciences, Uremia, Iran and Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Ali Zargham-Boroujeni

4 Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

Eva Johansson

5 Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden

Background:

Qualitative research focuses on social world and provides the tools to study health phenomena from the perspective of those experiencing them. Identifying the problem, forming the question, and selecting an appropriate methodology and design are some of the initial challenges that researchers encounter in the early stages of any research project. These problems are particularly common for novices.

Materials and Methods:

This article describes the practical challenges of using qualitative inquiry in the field of health and the challenges of performing an interpretive research based on professional experience as a qualitative researcher and on available literature.

One of the main topics discussed is the nature of qualitative research, its inherent challenges, and how to overcome them. Some of those highlighted here include: identification of the research problem, formation of the research question/aim, and selecting an appropriate methodology and research design, which are the main concerns of qualitative researchers and need to be handled properly. Insights from real-life experiences in conducting qualitative research in health reveal these issues.

Conclusions:

The paper provides personal comments on the experiences of a researcher in conducting pure qualitative research in the field of health. It offers insights into the practical difficulties encountered when performing qualitative studies and offers solutions and alternatives applied by these authors, which may be of use to others.

I NTRODUCTION

Health services and health policy research can be based on qualitative research methods, especially when they deal with a rapid change and develop a more fully integrated theory base and research agenda. However, the field must be with the best traditions and techniques of qualitative methods and should distinguish the essentiality of special training and experience in applying these methods.[ 1 ]

Qualitative research methodologies could help improve our understanding of health-related phenomena. Health knowledge must also include interpretive action to maintain scientific quality when research methods are applied. Qualitative and quantitative strategies should be seen as complementary rather than being thought of as incompatible. Although the procedures of interpreting texts are different from those of statistical analysis, due to their different type of data and questions to be answered, the underlying scientific principles are very much the same.[ 2 ]

While working for more than a decade as qualitative designer, Khankeh faced a lot of challenges in conducting qualitative research in the field of health which occupied the mind of other health researchers. Therefore, this article contributes to the discussion of challenges related to qualitative research in healthcare in the light of personal experiences of a researcher conducting purely qualitative health research.

A M AIN I SSUE FOR THE Q UALITATIVE R ESEARCHER

Qualitative research methods involve systematic collection, organizing, and interpretation of material in textual form derived from talk or observations. They are useful to explore the meanings of social phenomena as experienced by individuals in their natural context. The health community still looks at qualitative research with skepticism and accuses it for the subjective nature and absence of facts. Scientific standards, criteria and checklists do exist and the adequacy of guidelines has been vigorously debated within this cross-disciplinary field.[ 2 ]

Clinical knowledge consists of interpretive action and interaction – factors that involve communication, shared opinions, and experiences. The current quantitative research methods indicate a confined access to clinical knowledge, since they insert only the questions and phenomena that can be controlled, measured, and are countable where it is necessary to investigate, share and contest the tacit knowledge of an experienced practitioner. Qualitative research focuses on the people's social world, and not their disease. It is concerned with increased understanding of the meaning of certain conditions for health professionals and patients, and how their relationships are built in a particular social context.[ 3 ] These kinds of research allow exploration of the social events as experienced by individuals in their natural context. Qualitative inquiry could contribute to a broader understanding of health science [ 4 ] considering the substantial congruence between the core elements of health practice and the principles underpinning qualitative research. The globalization progress augments the necessity of qualitative research.[ 5 ]

Corbin (2008) reported that in the past 10 years, the interest in qualitative methods in general and grounded theory in particular has burgeoned according to a review of the literature and dissertation abstracts.[ 6 ]

A researcher engaged in qualitative research will be confronted with a number of challenges. Identifying the research problem and forming the research question are some of the initial challenges that researchers encounter in the early stages of a qualitative research project. Researchers and students sometimes fail to understand that adopting a qualitative approach is only the first stage in the process of selecting an appropriate research methodology.[ 7 ]

Once the initial research question has been identified, the crucial decision to be made is on the selection of an appropriate method, such as content analysis, ethnography, or grounded theory, and selecting the research design as well. Subsequent arrangements would be on the proper methods of data collection, participants, and the research setting, according to the methodology and the research question.[ 8 ] Qualitative researchers should also handle other important concerns such as data analysis, ethical issues, and rigor methods of results.

In this paper, we are going to discuss important practical challenges of qualitative inquiry in health and the challenges faced by researchers using interpretive research methodologies.

U NDERSTANDING THE R EAL N ATURE OF Q UALITATIVE R ESEARCH AND ITS C HALLENGES

It is important to provide an honest and concise appreciation of the essential characteristics of the qualitative research before discussing the challenges of the interpretive research approach to studies in health.

Virtues of qualitative research

Qualitative research does not promise a clear or direct and orderly method of tackling research problems in health studies. It does not provide researchers with a set of rules to be followed or give them a comforting sense of security and safety backup against possible mistakes on the road to knowledge. This research method depends on the “power of words and images,” but does not offer the assimilated meanings such as numbers and equations; it is rather “an attentive search of meaning and understanding” and an attempt for profound comprehension and awareness of the problems and phenomena. The essentially “diagnostic and exploratory nature” of qualitative research is invaluable in developing conceptualizations in health as an evolving discipline. It tenders the possible tap into the sea of complex interactions in health that can be as follows.

Researchers launch the quest for new theories in health which should acknowledge that “qualitative research is an approach rather than a particular set of techniques, and its appropriateness derives from the nature of the social phenomena to be explored.”[ 9 ] In qualitative research, knowledge derives from the context-specific perspective on the experienced phenomena, interpretations, and explanation of social experiences.

Why qualitative research in the health professions?

Researcher should justify the reason for which he or she selected qualitative research. Qualitative researchers pursue a holistic and exclusive perspective. The approach is helpful in understanding human experiences, which is important for health professionals who focus on caring, communication, and interaction.[ 10 ] Many potential researchers intend to find the answer to the questions about a problem or a major issue in clinical practice or quantitative research can not verify them.

In fact, they choose qualitative research for some significant reasons:

• The emotions, perceptions, and actions of people who suffer from a medical condition can be understood by qualitative research
• The meanings of health professions will only be uncovered through observing the interactions of professionals with clients and interviewing about their experience. This is also applicable to the students destined for the healthcare field
• Qualitative research is individualized; hence, researchers consider the participants as whole human beings, not as a bunch of physical compartments
• Observation and asking people are the only ways to understand the causes of particular behaviors. Therefore, this type of research can develop health or education policies; policies for altering health behavior can only be effective if the behavior's basis is clearly understood.[ 10 , 11 ]

Before adhering to a distinct research methodology, researchers have to exactly understand the nature and character of their inquiries and the knowledge they choose to create. The majority of health researchers face many loopholes in justification. However, all defects and challenges of qualitative research should be realized rather than discarded as a compelling way to knowledge structure. New endeavors in excellent academic achievement and building new tradition of qualitative research in health can be facilitated through acknowledging traps and clarifying the real practical challenges.[ 9 ]

Finally, qualitative research provides investigators with the tools to study the health phenomena from the perspective of those experiencing them. This approach is especially applied in situ ations that have not been previously studied, where major gaps exists in research field, and when there is a need for a new perspective to be identified for the arena of health care intervention.[ 6 ]

Based on corbin and strauss (2008), “ Committed qualitative researchers lean toward qualitative work because they are drawn to the fluid, evolving, and dynamic nature of this approach in contrast to the more rigid and structured format of quantitative methods. Qualitative researchers enjoy serendipity and discovery. It is the endless possibilities to learn more about people that qualitative researchers resonate to. It is not distance that qualitative researchers want between themselves and their participants, but the opportunity to connect with them at a human level (Epistemology). Qualitative researchers have a natural curiosity that leads them to study worlds that interest them and that they otherwise might not have access to. Furthermore, qualitative researchers enjoy playing with words, making order out of seeming disorder, and thinking in terms of complex relationships. For them, doing qualitative research is a challenge that brings the whole self into the process .”

Choosing an approach for health research

Researchers select approaches and methodology based on some scientific logics, not on being easy or interesting. The nature and type of the research question or problem; the researcher's epistemological stance, capabilities, knowledge, skills, and training; and the resources available for the research project are the criteria upon which adopting methodology and procedures depend.[ 6 , 10 ]

Inconsistency between research question and methodology, insufficient methodological knowledge, and lack of attention on philosophical underpinning of qualitative methodology can be mentioned as some important challenges here.

There are several different ways of qualitative research and researchers will have to select between various approaches. The qualitative research is based on the theoretical and philosophical assumptions that researchers try to understand. Then, the research methodology and process should be chosen to be consistent with these basic assumptions and the research question as well.[ 10 ]

Some researchers believe that there is no need to study the methodology and methods before beginning the research. Many researchers neglect to gain this knowledge because they are not aware of the qualitative inquiry complexities which make them go wrong. For instance, lack of information about interview, qualitative data analysis, or sampling is very common.[ 10 ]

My experience shows that lack of knowledge, experience, and skills in a research team to do qualitative research can hinder the formation of original knowledge and improvement in understanding the phenomenon under study. The result of such a study will not be new and interesting, and even the study process will be very mechanical without good interpretation or enough exploration. Sometimes there is an inconsistency between research question, research methodology, and basic philosophical assumptions, and the researchers fail to justify their methods of choice in line with the research question and the ontological and epidemiological assumptions.

Finally, the researcher's intentions, the aims of the research question/inquiry, and the chosen approach are regarded as the most important reasons to select a qualitative research method consistent with them and their underpinning philosophical assumptions as well.[ 6 , 10 ]

Research question and aim

Qualitative research is exciting because it asks questions about people's everyday lives and experiences. A qualitative researcher will have the chance of discovering the “significant truths” in the lives of people. That is a wonderful privilege, but you need to get those questions right if you dig into people's lives and ask about their real experiences. An adequate and explicit research question, or a set of interrelated questions, builds the basis for a good research. But excellent research questions are not easy to write at all. A good research requires a good research question as well because it allows us to identify what we really want to know. However, at the beginning of a project, researchers may be uncertain about what exactly they intend to know, so vague questions can lead to an unfocused project.

Common problems coming up with a research question include:

• Deciding about the research area among a range of issues that are heeded in your field of interest
• Not capable of pointing toward any interesting area or topic sufficient to focus a major piece of work on
• Knowing about the area you want to concentrate on (e.g. emergency), but not a certain topic
• Knowing what area and topic is specifically difficult to articulate a clear question.

Just make sure that you give serious consideration to the chosen area as the basis of your research and that a qualitative project is relevant and possible

Having identified a research area, your next step will be to identify a topic within that interesting area. Research questions should be derived from the literature. The research question can come from the list of “suggestions for future work” at the end of a paper you have found interesting. Moreover, you can search for some verifiable gaps through literature review, or based on your personal or professional experience and expert opinion , which should be studied. Therefore, all the previous studies that have already been conducted in the area are considered as important. In this way, you do not run the risk of asking a research question that has already been addressed and/or answered. Based on my experience, novice researchers have some problems finding the right topics in their field of interest because they do not perform a broad literature review to find the gaps and problems suitable to be investigated. Sometimes their field of interest is different from that of their supervisors or there are no experts to help them in this regard.

Although the topic may retain your interest and you may be committed to undertake such a study, it is important to recognize that some topics of personal relevance may also be deeply significant and difficult to research. Finally you need to make sure that your topic of interest is the one that you can actually study within the project constraints such as time and fund.[ 12 ]

Once you have identified your interesting topic for research (according to a broad literature review, personal and professional experience, and/or expert opinion), you can begin to create a research question.

Forming the research question is one of the initial challenges that researchers encounter in the early stages of a research project. Therefore, it acquires significance by the very fact that it provides brief, but nevertheless, important information on the research topic that allows the reader to decide if the topic is relevant, researchable, and a remarkable issue. Furthermore, the research question in qualitative studies has an additional significance as it determines the manner of conducting the study.

The qualitative research question delineates the procedures that are executed in the study and provides a map to the readers by which they can trail the researcher's intentions and actions in the study. Therefore, special attention is needed on how a qualitative research question will specifically be structured, organized, and formed in the way to quote the necessary information and elements that allow the readers to assess and evaluate the study.

The formation of a qualitative research question acquires a basic conducting role for the study and a fundamental function to develop an audit trail that can empower the readers to judge the value, rigor, and validity of the whole research project. Hence, researchers should not only pay special attention toward developing a significant and relevant question, but also formulate it properly. The qualitative research question must be provided in such a way as to impart, reflect, and conjoin the theoretical and abstract assumptions with the practical and pragmatic means of attaining them.

In plain words, a good qualitative research question implicates particular phrasing, whereas the order of words should make the topic of interest amenable to the qualitative quest.

The researcher has to concentrate on how the content of the research topic is understood when phrasing the qualitative research questions, adhering to the topic with the philosophical/theoretical suggestions and to the structure of the study which requires compounding specific principal elements.

The content of a good qualitative research question takes the form of a declarative rather than an interrogative statement

Also, the content provides a brief focus on the issue to be investigated, but does not define the exact relationship of the variables to make these relationships flexible in emanating from the study according to the qualitative research theory. The qualitative research question incepts necessarily with an active verb like understanding, exploring, interpreting, constructing, explaining, describing, etc., to reflect the paradigm/philosophy underpinning the qualitative study. Consequently, specific nouns that represent the aims of qualitative studies, such as experiences, feelings, views, perspectives, knowledge, etc., should be applied. Finally, the methodology or method should appear in the qualitative research question coherent with them. Meanwhile, the structure of a good qualitative research question will address five of the following six: who, when, where, what, how, and why, and the entire research question should devise the sixth element.[ 13 ]

For instance, “Exploring the experiences of self-immolated women regarding their motives for attempting suicide: A qualitative content analysis study in Kermanshah Iran”

Make sure that your research question is consistent with the approach you are adopting. It is like an easy trap if you decide about the research question before considering the proper way by which you are intending to make assumptions and analyze your data.

My experiences show that novice researchers formulate their research question without considering the approach of their study in a proper way and usually their research questions are very broad, unclear, and vague. Since the intention of their studies is not completely clear at the beginning, they cannot decide about the research approach; also, they have to change their research question and take different directions in the course of study or they will end up without adequate results that can help readers or consumers improve their understanding or solve the problem.

Although a researcher initiates a study with a general question and topic, the interesting aspect of qualitative research is that the questions, which are more specific and can help in further data collection and analysis, arise during the course of the study. Thus, a qualitative research question can be broadly, rather than narrowly, focused in the beginning. Researcher can try to refine and make it more focused later. This is why qualitative research is usually cyclic rather than linear. Qualitative research is cyclic, which means that the research question in this approach immerses gradually into the topic. It means that when you come to know more and more about your topic, your ideas develop about what to focus, either through reading, thinking about what you have read, or in early stages of data analysis. Finally, it is literature review, general reading, and discussion with an expert supervisor that can help you find the right topic. If the background knowledge is poor at the beginning of the study, broad but clear research question can be reasonable. Research question may become more focused or develop in a different direction according to more reading and/or preliminary data analysis. A clear and focused research question is articulated and used to conduct further analysis and any future literature reviews necessary for the final write-up.

However, it is very important to take time to choose a research question, because it can be a very challenging exercise. Actually, the ultimate success of the project depends on selecting a clear and convenient question. The question should be appropriate for the qualitative research and for the specific approach you choose which must be grounded in research. It must ask precisely what you want to find out and be articulated and clear. Knowing this will help you plan your project.[ 12 ]

Choosing the right methodology and research design

Crucial decisions need to be made about an appropriate methodology, such as ethnography or grounded theory, after identifying the initial research question. The main concern of novice researchers is to find the reason and appropriate design to do the research, and proper methodology to answer the question. Researchers ought to figure out about the planning of qualitative research and how to choose the methodology.

Researchers sometimes fail to understand that in the process of selecting an adequate research methodology, adopting a qualitative approach is only the first stage. Students, and sometimes researchers, choose qualitative research because they think it is easier to use than the other methodologies. But this reasoning is fumble since qualitative research is a complex methodology where data collection and analysis can be mostly challenging. Sometimes lack of planning and inadequate attention paid to the properness of the selected approach considering the purpose of research will be problematic.

For new qualitative researchers, it often seems that the researcher should totally concentrate on the dual process of data collection and data analysis. It is very important to consider thorough planning in all stages of the research process, from developing the question to the final write-up of the findings for publication.[ 6 ]

The research design and methodology must be adequate to address the selected topics and the research question. Researchers have to identify, describe, and justify the methodology they chose, besides the strategies and procedures involved. So, it is pivotal to find the proper method for the research question. It should be noticed that some of the details of a qualitative research project cannot be ascertained in advance and may be specified as they arise during the research process.[ 10 ] An important problem for novice researchers is the little acknowledgement of different approaches that address different kinds and levels of questions and take a different stance on the kind of phenomena which is focused upon. More discussion and debates are necessary before selecting and justifying an approach.

The need for consistency and coherence becomes more obvious when we consider the risk of something called “method-slurring.” This is the problem of blurring distinctions between qualitative approaches. Each approach has to demonstrate its consistency to its foundations and will reflect them in data collection, analysis, and knowledge claim.

It may be important to acknowledge the distinctive features by specific approaches such as phenomenology or grounded theory at some levels such as the type of question they are suited to answer, data collection methods they are consistent with, and also the kinds of analysis and presentation of the results that fit within the approach – such as “goodness of fit” or logical staged linking – and can be referred to as “consistency.”

If such consistency occurs, then the whole thing “hangs together” as coherent; that is, the kind of knowledge generated in the results or presentation section doing what is said it would do following the aims of the project. In order to consider these criteria of consistency and coherence in greater detail, we need to look at the distinctive differences between qualitative approaches in the following: the aims of the research approach, its roots in different disciplines and ideologies, the knowledge claims linked to it, and to a lesser extent, the data collection and analysis specific to each approach.[ 11 ]

My experience shows that novice researchers have some problems to justify their methodology of choice and sometimes they experience some degree of methodological slurring. They do not have any clear understanding of the research process in terms of data gathering strategies, data analysis method, and even appropriate sampling plan, which should be indentified based on philosophical and methodological principles.

Finally, besides the above-mentioned problems, regarding research design, there are two common problems encountered especially by students who want to do qualitative study; sometimes researchers and research team try to identify everything, even the sample size, in advance when they design their study because they have a strong background of quantitative research, and this is completely in contrast with the flexible nature and explorative approach of qualitative research. The other problem is the examination committee and the format of proposal of grant sites and funding agencies, which are based on the principles of quantitative study. This rigid format pushes the researchers to try to clarify everything in advance. So, flexibility is regarded as the most important credibility criterion in all kinds of qualitative research and it should be considered when designing the study and following its process.[ 1 ]

C ONCLUSIONS

Qualitative research focuses on social world and provides investigators with the tools to study health phenomena from the perspective of those experiencing them.

Identifying the research problem, forming the research question, and selecting an appropriate methodology and research design are some of the initial challenges that researchers encounter in the early stages of a qualitative research project.

Once the research problem and the initial research question are identified, the crucial decision has to be made in selecting the appropriate methodology. Subsequent arrangements would be on the proper methods of data collection, and choosing the participants and the research setting according to the methodology and the research question. It is highly recommended that the researchers exactly understand the nature and character of their inquiries and the knowledge they choose to create before adhering to a distinct research methodology based on scientific knowledge.

The essence and type of the research question or problem, the researcher's epistemological stance, capabilities, knowledge, skills and training, and the resources available for the research project are the criteria upon which the adopting methodology and procedures depend.

Inconsistency between research question and methodology, insufficient methodological knowledge, and lack of attention to the philosophical underpinning of qualitative methodology are some important challenges.

Lack of knowledge, experience, and skills to do qualitative research can hinder the formation of original knowledge and improvement in understanding the phenomenon under study. The result of such a study will not be new and interesting, and even the study process will be very mechanical without good interpretation or enough exploration. A good research requires a good research question as well because it allows us to identify what we really want to know. However, at the beginning of a project, researchers may be wavering about what they exactly intend to know; so, vague questions can lead to an unfocused project.

Broad literature review, personal and professional experience, and/or expert opinion can be regarded as the main sources to identify interesting research topics and research questions as well. Forming the research question is one of the initial challenges that researchers encounter in the early stages of a research project. Therefore, it acquires significance by the very fact that it provides brief, but nevertheless, important information on the research topic that allows the reader to decide if the topic is relevant, researchable, and a remarkable issue that can help the researcher to determine the manner of conducting the study.

Then crucial decisions need to be made about an appropriate methodology. The main concern of novice researchers is to find the reason and appropriate design to do the research and the proper methodology to answer the question. Researchers first ought to figure out the planning of qualitative research and how to choose the methodology.

It is very important to consider thorough planning in all stages of the research process, from developing the question to final write-up of the findings for publication. It is worth knowing that some of the details of a qualitative research project cannot be ascertained in advance and may be specified as they arise during the research process. For a novice researcher, more discussions and debates are necessary before selecting and justifying an approach.

Method-slurring is another common problem, which means the act of blurring distinctions between qualitative approaches. Each approach has to demonstrate its consistency to its foundations and will reflect them in data collection, analysis, and knowledge claim.

It is not rare to find that researchers and research team try to identify everything, even sample size, in advance when they design their qualitative study because of the strong background they have about the quantitative research. This is completely in contrast with the flexible nature and explorative approach of qualitative research; as these kinds of researches are completely explorative, the mentioned issues – such as sample size – should be clarified in the course of the study.

The other problem is the examination committee and the format of proposal in the grant sites and funding agencies, which is based on the principles of quantitative study. Therefore, flexibility is actually the most important credibility criterion in all qualitative researches that should be considered when a study is designed and the study process is followed.

As the final word, the researcher should make sure that he/she gives serious consideration to the chosen area as the basis of research and that a qualitative project is relevant and possible. Thus, forming the research question in a proper way and selecting appropriate methodology can guarantee original, interesting, and applied knowledge, which at least can increase our understanding about the meaning of certain conditions for professionals and patients and how their relationships are built in a particular social context.

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Conflict of Interest: None declared.

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5 Strengths and 5 Limitations of Qualitative Research

Lauren Christiansen

Insight into qualitative research.

Anyone who reviews a bunch of numbers knows how impersonal that feels. What do numbers really reveal about a person's beliefs, motives, and thoughts? While it's critical to collect statistical information to identify business trends and inefficiencies, stats don't always tell the full story. Why does the customer like this product more than the other one? What motivates them to post this particular hashtag on social media? How do employees actually feel about the new supply chain process? To answer more personal questions that delve into the human experience, businesses often employ a qualitative research process.

10 Key Strengths and Limitations of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research helps entrepreneurs and established companies understand the many factors that drive consumer behavior. Because most organizations collect and analyze quantitative data, they don't always know exactly how a target market feels and what it wants. It helps researchers when they can observe a small sample size of consumers in a comfortable environment, ask questions, and let them speak. Research methodology varies depending on the industry and type of business needs. Many companies employ mixed methods to extract the insights they require to improve decision-making. While both quantitative research and qualitative methods are effective, there are limitations to both. Quantitative research is expensive, time-consuming, and presents a limited understanding of consumer needs. However, qualitative research methods generate less verifiable information as all qualitative data is based on experience. Businesses should use a combination of both methods to overcome any associated limitations.

Strengths of Qualitative Research

• Captures New Beliefs - Qualitative research methods extrapolate any evolving beliefs within a market. This may include who buys a product/service, or how employees feel about their employers.
• Fewer Limitations - Qualitative studies are less stringent than quantitative ones. Outside the box answers to questions, opinions, and beliefs are included in data collection and data analysis.
• More Versatile - Qualitative research is much easier at times for researchers. They can adjust questions, adapt to circumstances that change or change the environment to optimize results.
• Greater Speculation - Researchers can speculate more on what answers to drill down into and how to approach them. They can use instinct and subjective experience to identify and extract good data.
• More Targeted - This research process can target any area of the business or concern it may have. Researchers can concentrate on specific target markets to collect valuable information. This takes less time and requires fewer resources than quantitative studies.

Limitations of Qualitative Research

• Sample Sizes - Businesses need to find a big enough group of participants to ensure results are accurate. A sample size of 15 people is not enough to show a reliable picture of how consumers view a product. If it is not possible to find a large enough sample size, the data collected may be insufficient.
• Bias - For internal qualitative studies, employees may be biased. For example, workers may give a popular answer that colleagues agree with rather than a true opinion. This can negatively influence the outcome of the study.
• Self-Selection Bias - Businesses that call on volunteers to answer questions worry that the people who respond are not reflective of the greater group. It is better if the company selects individuals at random for research studies, particularly if they are employees. However, this changes the process from qualitative to quantitative methods.
• Artificial - It isn't typical to observe consumers in stores, gather a focus group together, or ask employees about their experiences at work. This artificiality may impact the findings, as it is outside the norm of regular behavior and interactions.
• Quality - Questions It's hard to know whether researcher questions are quality or not because they are all subjective. Researchers need to ask how and why individuals feel the way they do to receive the most accurate answers.

Key Takeaways on Strengths and Limitations of Qualitative Research

• Qualitative research helps entrepreneurs and small businesses understand what drives human behavior. It is also used to see how employees feel about workflows and tasks.
• Companies can extract insights from qualitative research to optimize decision-making and improve products or services.
• Qualitative research captures new beliefs, has fewer limitations, is more versatile, and is more targeted. It also allows researchers to speculate and insert themselves more into the research study.
• Qualitative research has many limitations which include possible small sample sizes, potential bias in answers, self-selection bias, and potentially poor questions from researchers. It also can be artificial because it isn't typical to observe participants in focus groups, ask them questions at work, or invite them to partake in this type of research method.

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Limitations and Weaknesses Of Qualitative Research

Limitations and Weaknesses Of Qualitative Research: To make informed conclusions, research involves obtaining data. The analysis is founded on logical thinking, as accuracy is one of the most important components of research. Research takes several forms and may serve various purposes, depending on the methodology used. There are primarily two main research methodologies: quantitative (focused on measurement and figures) and qualitative (concerned with understanding and words).

Anyone who has looked through a lot of figures, though, is aware of how impersonal it might feel. What do figures tell us about someone’s views, motivations, and thoughts? Even while it’s important to gather statistical data to spot company trends and inefficiencies, statistics don’t always provide the whole picture.

For a long time, qualitative research has been conducted using its guiding principles. Findings from this research approach have frequently been utilized by media and marketing to provide targeted content or provide a personalized brand message.

Data from qualitative research mostly comes from observations made by people. It can provide a deeper, more complete picture of consumer behavior by providing a window into audiences’ brains that quantitative data simply cannot. Customers appreciate hearing from businesses, so talking to them helps marketers better understand who their target market is. It also helps with customer service. This improves a company’s interaction with its customers and prepares the road for consumer endorsements.

As we’ve previously said, qualitative research is done to learn more about the underlying causes and motives in-depth. Qualitative research does have constraints, though. So, in this essay, we’ll talk about the Limitations and weaknesses of qualitative research.

Recommended: Limitations and Weaknesses Of Quantitative Research

Table of Contents

What is qualitative research?

A market research technique called qualitative research concentrates on gathering information through conversational and open-ended dialogue. This approach emphasizes “ why ” rather than “ what ” others think of you. Marketers like penetrating their target audience’s brains. But to achieve that, they must conduct a qualitative study. Qualitative observations, focus groups, and in-person interviews may all give you insightful information about your market, your goods, and the attitudes and motives of your consumers.

Consider that you operate a general audience web store. Demographic investigation reveals that the majority of your consumers are men. Naturally, you’ll be curious to know why ladies aren’t making purchases from you. And you’ll be able to discover it through qualitative research.

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Limitations and Weaknesses of Qualitative Research Methods

1. The data quality is very debatable: This is where the subjective aspect of data collection in qualitative research may potentially be a drawback. Another researcher may view data that one believes is relevant and necessary to collect as meaningless and choose not to pursue it.

Individual viewpoints and instinctive choices might result in very comprehensive data. Because of its dependence on researcher subjectivism, it can also result in data that is oversimplified or even erroneous.

2. It is based on the researcher’s experience: Only the experience of the researchers participating in the process will determine the quality of the data gathered through qualitative research. A researcher who is knowledgeable about the sector must gather data that is particular to that business.

For the data to be accurate, researchers must also be skilled at conducting effective interviews, brave enough to follow up with participants, and able to establish rapport with them on a professional level.

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3. It is more challenging to evaluate and prove data rigidity: It is more challenging to demonstrate rigidity in collective data since individual viewpoints frequently serve as the basis of data collected in qualitative research. The human mind frequently recalls information in the way that it desires. Because of this, even if the events themselves may have been rather upsetting at the time, recollections are frequently viewed with nostalgia.

Researchers find it challenging to show the veracity of their findings because of our fundamental tendency to see the bright side of things.

4. It could take a lot of time: Data collection takes longer since researchers go off in many different directions. Additionally, sorting through all of that additional data takes time. The value of every data point is never certain since it is appraised subjectively.

In contrast to data gathered via qualitative research, data gathered through other research forms are subject to strict criteria and expectations that enable it to be reviewed and used more quickly.

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5. Data with uncertain values are produced: Due to the diversity of their viewpoints, even researchers may disagree on the importance of the data being gathered. The qualitative research method depends on the researcher engaged to determine what is included and what is eliminated. Due to its very subjective nature, this data collecting procedure. It is always feasible to offer detailed data, but only in cases when the researcher can put their prejudice and viewpoint aside and present the material in its unprocessed state.

6. It is not statistically significant: Its absence of statistical representation is the one drawback of qualitative research that is always present. The replies provided are not quantified because it is a perspective-based research approach only.

Although it is possible to compare results and this may result in the necessary duplication. Most situations that call for statistical representation and are outside the scope of qualitative research need quantitative data.

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7. Repeated qualitative research periods may be necessary for difficult conclusions: For brands and enterprises that must make a difficult or possibly divisive decision, the smaller sample sizes of qualitative research may be both an advantage and a drawback.

Even though the people in the sample share a lot of characteristics, a small sample is not always indicative of wider general demography. This indicates that a follow-up with a bigger quantitative sample may be required to track data points with more precision and make a better overall judgment.

8. Qualitative research-generated data isn’t often taken seriously: Findings from qualitative research are not always embraced by the scientific community because of the subjective character of the data that is gathered. To start the process of community acceptability, it is frequently required to conduct a second independent qualitative research project that can yield comparable findings.

Also see: Differences Between Objective And Subjective

9. In the course of qualitative study, hidden facts may vanish: It is entrusted to the researcher with a great deal of faith that they will obtain and then compile the hidden data that a supplier makes available. The ability of the researcher to make all the connections is essential to the research’s success.

If the researcher is successful in doing this, the data will be significant and will aid brands in advancing their goals. Otherwise, until the initial findings are acquired, there is no ability to change the course of action. The next step is to start a fresh qualitative procedure.

10. Researcher influence may have a detrimental impact on the data gathered: Qualitative research relies heavily on the abilities and observation of the researcher to provide high-quality data. A researcher’s point of view will be integrated with the data gathered if they have a biased viewpoint, which will affect the results.

Controls must be in place to assist in removing the possibility of bias so that the data gathered may be examined honestly. Otherwise, a researcher might assert anything and then utilize their bias in qualitative research to support their claim.

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Any qualitative research project, in practice, has advantages and disadvantages. Thus, being aware of the constraints is essential to successful and relevant data collection. Qualitative research studies have the drawbacks of being more difficult to comprehend and are less likely to generalize to the entire community. It is essential to have a better understanding of how certain individuals and even groups think. But someone will always doubt the data’s dependability and truthfulness because of how subjective it is.

Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.

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