An Introduction to

Qualitative Research

Najibullah Safi, MD. MSc. HPM

NPO/PHC, WHO Afghanistan

Outline
Introduction
Differences between qualitative and
quantitative research
Study design in qualitative research
Method of data collection
Handling qualitative data
Analyzing qualitative data
Presenting the results of qualitative
research
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Introduction
Scientist more comfortable with
quantitative research
Quantitative methods deal with the
collection and processing numerical data
Answer questions
How often? To what extent?
How much? How many but cannot answer
questions on
Why? how? In what way?

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Introduction cont.
Qualitative research can provide insight
which is not possible to elucidate with
purely quantitative data
A means for exploring and understanding
the meaning individuals or groups ascribe
to social or human problems
Study human behavior and social world

Help us to understand the world in which

we live and why things are the way they
are
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Introduction cont.
Qualitative research answer questions on:
Why people behave the way they do
How opinions and attitudes are formed
How people are affected by the events that
go on around them
How and why cultures have developed
The difference between social groups

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Quantitative vs. Qualitative

research
N
o

Qualitative research

Quantitative research

Subjective concern with

opinion, experiences and
feelings of individuals

objective

Holistic

Reductionist identify a set of

variables

Phenomenological

Scientific

Descriptive

Experimental

Naturalistic

Contrived

Inductive generate theories

Deductive test proposed

theories

Small sample direct data

collection, interview,
observation

Representative sample

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8 Results

Research
Course generalizability is an
generalizability
is Methodology
not
Usually

Qualitative research designs

Four major types of qualitative research
design include:
Phenomenology
Ethnography
Grounded theory
Case study

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Phenomenology
Study of a phenomena describing
something that exist as part of the world
Phenomena might be:
An event, a situation, an experience or a concept
e.g. back pain

It begins with the acknowledgment that

there is a gap in our understanding
It may not necessarily provide definitive
explanations but it does raise awareness
and increase insight
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Ethnography
The term means portrait of people
It is a methodology for descriptive studies of
cultures and peoples
e.g. cultural parameter is suspected of affecting the
populations response to care or treatment

It requires extensive fieldwork by the

researchers
Data collection includes formal and informal
interview on several occasion and observation
It is extremely time consuming
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Ethnography cont.
Data analysis emic approach:
researcher interpret data from the
prospective of the population under study
Results are expressed as they are
expressed by the subjects themselves
These studies might be problematic when
researchers are not familiar with social
norms and language

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Grounded theory
Main feature: development of a new
theory through the collection and analysis
of data about a phenomenon
It goes beyond phenomenology as the
explanation are genuinely new knowledge
and are used to develop theories
Various data collection techniques are
used
Literature review, documentary analysis,
interviews , observation
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Grounded theory cont.

Key feature: constant comparative
analysis simultaneous collection and
analysis of data

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Case study
Case studies might be qualitative or quantitative
In-depth analysis of a single or small number of
unites
It is used to describe an entity that forms a
single unit such as a person, an organization or
an institution
Complexity: illustration of an event VS. analysis
of social situation over time
As a research design, it offers rich and in-depth
information which is not usually offered by other
methods
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Case study cont.

It is highly versatile method and employs
any or all methods of data collection
It can be used for different purposes e.g.
development of new services, organizational
changes in planning, purchasing or delivery
of health services, evaluation of a program
A critic - case may not be representative of
similar cases (findings are not
generalizable)
Can we apply findings elsewhere?
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Methods of collecting qualitative

data
Direct interaction with individuals
One to one interaction
Or interaction with a group

Interviews
Focus Group Discussion
Observation
Data collection is time consuming
Benefits of these methods include richness
of data and deeper insight into phenomena
under study

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Interviews
Structured interviews
Same questions in same away
Limited range of responses (e.g.
questionnaires)

Semi structured interviews or focused

interviews
Series of open ended questions
Provide opportunities to both researchers and
respondents to discuss certain topics in more
details

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Interviews cont.
Unstructured interviews or in-depth
interviews
Discussing limited number of topics
Phrase questions in the interviewees previous
response

Qualitative interviews are semi structure or

unstructured
Qualitative interviews should be fairly
informal
Require careful consideration and
preparation
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Focus group discussion

Collect information from groups of people
rather than a series of individuals
FGD can be used when
Resources are limited
To identify a number of individuals who share a
common factor
It is desirable to collect the views of several
people within the population sub group
Group interaction among participants has the
potential for greater insights to be developed
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Focus group discussion cont.

Characteristics of a focus group
Group size: usually 6-10 people
Several FGD should be run in any research, it would
be wrong to rely on the views of just one group
Members of each group should have something in
common
May use pre formed groups e.g. pressure groups
Data collection and analysis is time consuming
Requires certain skills
Facilitation, moderating, listening, observing and analyzing

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Observation
Might be the only method to collect
information in certain conditions
Observation of people VS. observation of
environment
Observation can also serve for verifying or
nullifying information collected through
other methods

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Observation cont.
Techniques for collecting data
Written descriptions
Researcher may miss to record
May focus on one thing and miss equally or even
more important things

Video recording
No need to take notes
Review time after time
Recording my affect the behavior of the people under
observation
Fixed camera may limits the range of possible
observation
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Observation cont.
Photographs
Good way of collecting observable data of
phenomena which can be captured in a single
shots or series of shots
Photographs of buildings, neighborhoods, dress
and appearance

Documentation
Wide range of written materials
Policy document, annual reports, minutes of
meeting, codes of conduct, notice boards etc.
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Handling qualitative research data

Recording VS. note taking
Transcribing qualitative data
Procedure for producing written version of interview
Time consuming , estimated ratio of time required is
5:1
Produce a lot of written text

Transcribe may not be essential for each

interview
Tape analysis: taking notes from play back of tape
recorded interviews
Who should do transcribing?
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Handling qualitative research data

cont.
Consideration should be given to tone and inflection
By listening and noting the intensity and feeling in the
interviewees voice it is possible to detect:
Positive/negative continuum
Certainty/uncertainty
Enthusiasm/reluctance

Constant comparative analysis: data collection and

data analysis occur on ongoing basis
Each interview is analyzed before other interview take place
Finding of first interview is incorporated in the following one
Later interviews might be completely different from the
initial ones

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Analyzing qualitative data

Involves summarizing data and presenting
the results in a way that communicate the
most important features
As quantitative research we are interested to
discover the big picture in qualitative
research as well, but by using different
technics
We start labeling or coding every item of
information to recognize differences and
similarities between all different items
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Analyzing qualitative data cont.

No system for pre-coding
Needs a method of identifying and coding
items of data which appear in the text of
transcript
All the items of data from one interview
should be compared with other interviews
Same procedures are used for qualitative
data collected through interviews, FGDs,
observation and documentary analysis
since all are concerned with analyzing text
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Analyzing qualitative data cont.

Content analysis
Procedure for categorization of verbal or
behavioral data
It involves coding and classifying data
Analysis done at two levels:
Basic or manifest level: descriptive what was
actually said
Higher or interpretative level: what was meant by
response also called latent level of analysis

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Analyzing qualitative data cont.

Content analysis involves the following
steps:
1.

2.
3.
4.
5.
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Read the transcript and make brief note of

interesting or relevant information
Make a list of the different type of information
from the notes
Categorization of the listed items
Identify the categories that are some how linked
to each other (major categories or themes)
Compare and contrast various categories
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Analyzing qualitative data cont.

Content analysis involves the following steps:
6. Repeat the process from stage 1-5 on next transcripts
- Identify new categories of information
- Accommodate data in the existing categories
- Color code different categories and review

7. Collect together all the extracts from the transcribed

interviews that you have put into one category
8. Review different categories and move items if required
from one category to another
9. Review and check if two or more categories can fit together
10.Check the initial notes, consider if any previously excluded
data is relevant and should be included in results

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Computerized data analysis

Most well known software packages
include
ATLAS/ti
NVivo
NUD*IST

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Presenting the results of

qualitative research
Look at themes and categories and
structure the results accordingly
The structure can be set out at the
beginning as a list or diagram
Themes are the main findings of the study
To support findings, evidence are
presented at direct quotations from
respondents

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Presenting the results of

qualitative research cont.
A range of quotations should be selected
Strength of opinion or belief
Similarities between respondents
Differences between respondents

Link between different categories

Conclusion
Some qualitative data can be dealt with in
quantitative way
Using qualitative and quantitative techniques
for analysis of data can strengthen analysis
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Presenting the results of

qualitative research cont.
Themes

Major categories

Minor categories
Safe sex

Sexual health

Pregnancy
Sexual behavior

Health issues for young

people

Smoking
Drugs

Alcohol
Illicit drugs
Services available

Lack of knowledge

Understanding
Perceptions

Barriers to accessing
services

Own beliefs
Attitudes

Peer pressure
Expectation of staff

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Group Work
Form three groups
Select group leader and reporter
Review and discuss all questions (part 1-3)
in groups
Each group will present only one part of
the questions (part 1-3)
Time for group work: 30 minutes
Time for presentation of each group: 10
minutes
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anks, any questions or comme

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