A500.6.3.RB - Qualitative Research

                Qualitative research is exploring information for more details about a topic in order to develop a deeper understanding of what it is one is wanting to research. When performing research at this level, it would benefit the researcher to take it step by step in order to prevent confusion or miss valuable information.

The first step is to perform an Interview, which will serve more than one purpose. The first purpose is a means to collect information to use primarily for the research. The second purpose for an interview is for observation or documentation. Interviews provide great feedback during the research process because one can record an interview and review at a later date.

The next step is to observe the participation in the research. What type of people will be participating in the research? Are the participants hindering or helping the research? Does the environment play a role in your research? The observer assisting with the research, may potentially hinder the research by not carefully paying attention to the participants.

Finally, one of the main goals of qualitative research is compiling the data and producing an outcome from the research. This requires the ability to breakdown the information from the observation, sort the information, and finally draw a conclusion from the results. Although these steps seem basic and easy to follow, it is important to have validity to support the research.

Qualitative reminds me as we age, we want quality friends, and we may not need many because the true value of a few is better than having 100. The opposite is a reminder of our early years, whereas teenagers want as many friends as possible to appear popular. It is more important to provide quality work and 1 qualitative research project; the work you create while pushing out 5 quantitative research articles may not be as reliable or valuable as one project.

For our upcoming assignment this week, providing qualitative research by developing a survey will help us learn the beginning steps for qualitative research. This will be a great learning tool and will provide baby steps for learning how to research information in a new way.