Qualitative research is a widely used set of investigative techniques. It gives an idea of people’s behaviours and perceptions and allows researchers to study their opinions on a particular topic in more depth than is possible with a quantitative survey. It generates ideas and hypotheses which can show how a problem is perceived by the target population and can define options linked to this problem. This technique is often used in the pre-testing of concepts.

Group discussions and individual in-depth interviews are the techniques most often used in qualitative inquiry.  Qualitative research is based on semi-structured or unstructured interviews.  The moderator or interviewer works with a discussion or interview guide especially prepared for the research subject.

Compared to the investigative techniques used in surveys, qualitative research is not based on closed questionnaires.  Indeed, the researcher has a certain leeway to adapt the discussion guide or the interview guide according to the responses and the individual experiences of the participants. The researcher can also eliminate those questions which do not generate useful information or add questions where useful.

Qualitative research can be characterised by an approach which aims to describe and analyse the culture and behaviours of human beings from the point of view of those being studied.  Consequently, it looks at knowledge in a holistic way and in the social context in which the research is being conducted. Social life is viewed as a series of linked events, described in such a way as to reflect every day life.  Qualitative research takes a flexible and interactive approach.

Figure 1: Iterative qualitative research process

adapted from Crabtree, B.F. and Miller, W.L., eds (1992). Doing qualitative Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage, p.xv

Qualitative research does not generate statistics and cannot be extrapolated for the general population, given that the sample is neither representative nor random.  It is for this reason that qualitative data are not conclusive in terms of statistics and should not be used for percentages or statistics as in a quantitative approach.  The value of qualitative research, however, should not be underestimated. Based on information and ideas provided by informants, a qualified moderator or interviewer can obtain detailed information through the use of probing techniques.

Quantitative research, on the other hand, relies on a systematic approach of collecting and analysing information obtained from a sample of the population in order to provide statistics – generally in the form of percentages.

The most commonly used methods for data collection in qualitative research are:

• Unstructured interviews;
• Semi-structured or structured interviews;
• Group interviews;
• Observation methods;
• Ethnographic decision-tree modelling and social network analysis.