{"id":365,"date":"2025-05-25T12:08:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T12:08:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greencarsnow.com\/?p=365"},"modified":"2025-06-06T09:35:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-06T09:35:19","slug":"qualitative-research-simply-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.greencarsnow.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/25\/qualitative-research-simply-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"Qualitative Research Simply Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a visual on quantitative research<\/a> and I was really glad to see how many of you found it useful, especially for teaching and workshops. Today I\u2019m shifting the focus to qualitative research, a paradigm I\u2019ve been immersed in since my master\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n

Here is the thing: condensing the richness of qualitative research into a single visual is no easy task. It\u2019s complex, interpretive, and philosophically layered. But I also believe this: if you can\u2019t explain something simply, you probably haven\u2019t understood it well enough.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s my attempt to explain it simply.<\/p>\n

In this new visual, I tried to put together a quick and accessible guide to help students and new researchers grasp the essentials of qualitative research. The guide includes:<\/p>\n

1. A few widely cited definitions
2. The key characteristics (based on Merriam\u2019s work)
3. Commonly used methods (inspired by Newman & Benz)
4. A brief on the philosophical foundation
5. And a short list of recommended readings<\/p>\n

I drew mainly from Merriam, S. B. (2009) and Newman & Benz (1998) Feel free to use this with your students, share it in your courses, or include it in your research workshops.<\/p>\n

What is Qualitative Research<\/h2>\n

Here are some widely cited definitions of qualitative research:<\/p>\n

\u201cBasically, qualitative researchers are interested in understanding the meaning people have constructed\u2014that is, how people make sense of their world and the experiences they have in the world.\u201d (Merriam, 2009, p. 13)<\/p>\n

\u201cQualitative research is a situated activity that locates the observer in the world\u2026 qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.\u201d (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005, p. 3)<\/p>\n

\u201cQualitative research is an umbrella term covering an array of interpretive techniques which seek to describe, decode, translate, and otherwise come to terms with the meaning, not the frequency, of certain more or less naturally occurring phenomena in the social world.\u201d (Van Maanen, 1979, p. 520 as quoted in Merriam, 2009, p. 3)<\/p>\n

\u201cQualitative research is multimethod in focus, involving an interpretive, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. Researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.\u201d (Denzin & Lincoln, 1994, as quoted in Merriam, 2009, p. 3)<\/p>\n

These definitions, taken from key scholars in the field, offer a rich picture of what qualitative research is about. Merriam emphasizes how people construct meaning from their experiences, while Denzin and Lincoln draw attention to the importance of studying people in their everyday environments. Van Maanen adds a focus on interpretation, on describing and translating the meanings people assign to the world around them. <\/p>\n

What stands out across all these perspectives is the commitment to understanding experience in depth, with all its complexity and context. I see qualitative research as a way of entering other people\u2019s worlds, listening closely, and trying to make sense of how they live, think, and act.<\/p>\n

The Philosophical Foundations of Qualitative Research<\/h2>\n
\n

\u201cResearchers do not \u2018find\u2019 knowledge; they construct it.\u201d (Merriam, 2009, p. 9)
\u201cReality is socially constructed\u2026 there are multiple realities.\u201d (Merriam, 2009, p. 9)
p. 9)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Behind every research method lies a set of assumptions about reality, knowledge, and how we come to understand the world. In qualitative research, these assumptions are rooted in an interpretive view of the world; one that sees reality as constructed, meaning as negotiated, and knowledge as shaped through human experience. <\/p>\n

This section outlines the key philosophical foundations that inform qualitative inquiry, including how researchers view reality (ontology), how they approach knowledge (epistemology), and the broader paradigms and traditions that guide their work, based on Merriam (2009) .<\/p>\n

1. Ontology (Nature of Reality)<\/strong><\/p>\n