We explain what the qualitative method is, what aspects it focuses on, its characteristics and examples. Furthermore, the quantitative method.
What is the qualitative method?
When we talk about qualitative methods, qualitative research or qualitative methodology, we are referring to the type of information collection procedures most used in the social sciences.
These are linguistic-semiotic based methods.. They use techniques other than surveys and experiments, such as open interviews, discussion groups, or participant observation techniques.
All qualitative method aims to collect complete speeches on a specific topicand then proceed to its interpretation, thus focusing on the cultural and ideological aspects of the result, instead of the numerical or proportional ones.
This implies understanding the natural and everyday context of the phenomenon studied. It also considers the meanings attributed to it and the evaluations that people make. In other words, and paraphrasing Taylor and Bogdan (1984), the qualitative method aims to understand what people think and say.
See also: Research methods
Characteristics of the qualitative method
Qualitative research They are usually multi-methodical in their approach to the object of study, that is, they usually apply different methods of obtaining information at the same time. Returns descriptive data: the cultural content of people, the observable data of what they say, etc.
On the other hand, this type of research They do not usually pose an a priori hypothesisbut rather aspires to use the logic of induction to answer the questions that motivate the study.
Examples of qualitative method
The following forms of research are possible examples of the application of the qualitative method:
- Ethnographic studies. In which participant observation is used. That is, a scientific description of the researcher's experience in a different society and culture. There are many examples of this in the studies of certain African tribes during the 19th century, by European scholars.
- Participatory research. Those in which the researcher interrelates his research with the participation of the investigated subjects, to understand the functioning of a community for its benefit. Examples of this are social works that seek to propose development models for depressed communities, such as urban neighborhoods or marginal populations.
- Cultural studies. By turning to relevant documentation, context and other textual sources, many investigations aim to understand the cultural logic behind specific manifestations, applying a transdisciplinary method. For example, a study of the forms of artistic representation of a social conflict in a country, which sheds light on what people feel about it, but do not say.
Quantitative method
Unlike the qualitative method, focused on interpretation and descriptive results, the quantitative method assigns numerical values to the elements of the phenomenon studiedin order to apply statistical or formal techniques to the result. In this way, you obtain quantifiable conclusions, that is, expressed in mathematical terms.
It is considered the opposite type of research from qualitative research: quantitative research focuses on quantities, while qualitative research focuses on qualities, so to speak.
Continue with: Quantitative method
References
- “Qualitative research” on Wikipedia.
- “Qualitative methodology” at the University of Jaén (Spain).
- “Qualitative research” at the Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo (Mexico).
