DIARY SIX: MY REVIEW OF QUALITIVE RESEARCH (6)

MOHAMED

Introduction
As we move forward and advance in knowledge our thinking and perception of
nature of certain things change due to the fact that the more information we receive
the more we understand the subject matter better. This write up is based on my own
view and my understanding of Qualitative Research after attending the class with
Asst. Prof. Dr. Azura Omar for 14 weeks.
What is Qualitative research?
As far as I understand, Qualitative Research seeks to understand in-depth a
phenomenon and interpret human and social behavior as it is lived by the participants
in a particular social setting. The qualitative approach is wholly subjective in outline
and the researcher must allow the data speak for themselves while coming up with
findings. This feat is achieved only when the researcher do not inject his/her opinion
into the data collected. Furthermore, Qualitative research are incredibly complex,
diverse and nuanced and as such, the method employs different approaches such as
Ethnography, Phenomenology, Grounded theory, Narrative research, Case study.
Qualitative researchers usually develop a naturalistic stance while reporting their
findings and they use interpretive approach. Methods of data collection in qualitative
research studies include mainly interviews, field notes and participant and nonparticipant observation, and histories, which includes pictures, dairies, documental
content analysis and albums etc. and it is these approaches that differentiate
Qualitative research method from it Quantitative research Method counterpart. Most
importantly, qualitative researches are always aligned towards the inductive style.
Again here, a qualitative researcher is not concerned about number or figures because
they strongly believe that man as a living being cannot be subjected to mathematical

DIARY SIX: MY REVIEW OF QUALITIVE RESEARCH (6)

MOHAMED

figures whose result although may be correct, but such findings may fail to fit into
reality.
Philosophical Underpinning of a Qualitative Research study
Qualitative researchers always bring certain believes and philosophical assumptions
to their research and as such those beliefs and philosophical assumptions determine
the nature of the problem a qualitative researcher need to study, the type of research
questions to that need to be asked and how to embark on data collection. Thus, one
can categorically say that a Qualitative research study is guided by the researchers
worldview. This is based on the fact that human conducts are ultimately traceable to a
worldview. Put simply, a worldview is the perspective by which a person views the
world and it is formed by the combination of the a priori and the a posteriori. A priori
is any knowledge, which is self-evident and a posteriori is the knowledge an
individual obtains from his/her education. Thus, due to the fact that the qualitative
researcher is mostly exploring human activities, the researcher stance during data
collection will be based on what he/she believes i.e. worldview.
Conclusion
Qualitative research studies are a situated activity that places the researcher in the
world. The qualitative researcher usually looks at patterns in the data collected and
comes up with themes and significant statements from the participants of his/her study
and these themes and significant statements becomes the main findings of a
qualitative researcher.