Reasons For Conducting Qualitative Research

To engage in qualitative enquiry, there is a need to first determine whether a strong rationale exists for choosing a qualitative approach. The following reasons could call for a qualitative inquiry:

• Topics that need to be explored: This is a situation where variables cannot be easily identified, theories are not available to explain behavior of participants or their population of study;
• Need to present a detailed view of the topic: This is the case where the distant panoramic view is not enough to present answers to the problem;
• Need to study individuals in their natural setting: This is the case where, if participants are removed from their natural setting, it leads to contrived findings that are out of context;
• Need to write in a literary style: This is where the writer engages a story telling form of narration and the personal pronoun “I” is used;
• Where there is sufficient time and resources to spend on extensive data collection in the field and detailed data analysis of “text” information;
• The nature of research question: In a qualitative study, the research questions often starts with a how or a what; and
• Audiences are receptive to qualitative research.

To go to a discussion on designing a qualitative research, click here.