Qualitative Research Designs
Qualitative research designs are used to explore complex phenomena in their natural settings, often
focusing on understanding experiences, perspectives, and behaviors. Unlike quantitative research, which
is centered on numerical data and statistical analysis, qualitative research seeks to provide in-depth
insights into the meanings and processes behind social and psychological phenomena. Here are the main
qualitative research designs:
1. Phenomenology
Purpose: To explore and understand people's lived experiences and how they make sense of
those experiences.
Focus: It seeks to uncover the essence of an experience from the perspective of those who have
lived through it.
Method: Data is typically gathered through in-depth interviews, personal narratives, or
observations. The researcher focuses on participants' descriptions and attempts to identify
common themes across experiences.
Example: Studying the lived experience of patients diagnosed with a chronic illness.
2. Grounded Theory
Purpose: To develop theories grounded in empirical data, focusing on the process of how
phenomena unfold.
Focus: It emphasizes discovering patterns, processes, and interactions that lead to the
development of a theoretical framework.
Method: Researchers collect data (interviews, observations, documents) and continuously
analyze it in stages (coding), allowing a theory to emerge organically from the data itself.
Example: Developing a theory on how people cope with grief based on interviews with
bereaved individuals.
3. Ethnography
Purpose: To understand the cultural and social dynamics of a particular group or community by
immersing the researcher in that environment.
Focus: Ethnography looks at the social practices, rituals, norms, and values of a group from an
insider’s perspective.
Method: Researchers spend extended periods of time observing, participating, and sometimes
interacting within the community. Data is typically collected through participant observation,
interviews, and field notes.
Example: Studying the daily life and rituals of a remote indigenous tribe.
4. Case Study
