Postgraduate Tips
What are the weaknesses of qualitative research?
Question: What are the weaknesses of qualitative research?
By: Dr Stephen Whitehead
Qualitative research may appear an easier option to quantitative (who wants to be bothered with all those boring stats and number crunching?) but in reality it is much trickier.
And the main reason is that the social skills and EQ of the researcher count for everything in qualitative while with quantitative you can be a complete social moron and still acquire good data.
Whether the research approach is in-depth unstructured interviews or semi-structured, with qualitative you are going to need to have good social and interactive skills to get the best data emerging from your, usually brief (60mins?) interview.
And it is not just about communication and knowing intuitively when to leave aside your interview plan and go off on a potentially fascinating tangent with your interviewee, it is about the power dynamics. Ever tried to interview a politician or high level leader for qualitative research? If so, you’ll know what I mean by ‘power dynamics’ and an individual’s ability to never answer a question and to always present themselves in the way they want to be presented.
With qualitative you are into research mode from the very moment you set foot in the place where you intend to do the interview. You are observing and noting everything, all the human interactions, the dynamics, the spoken language used and the body language expressed.
You have a short time to get inside the head and imagination of the respondent and get your questions answered. And that means allowing the interview some free flowing movement while ensuring you steer it in the direction you want it to go, without necessarily signposting that intent to the interviewee.
Intuition, maturity, confidence, experience, emotional intelligence, and the social skills which enable the interviewee to open up and reveal what they really feel, rather than what they feel socially obligated to present.
Not everyone can do it well. Though many try.
Since 2017, Dr Stephen Whitehead has answered over 10,500 Quora questions, mostly on education, relationships, sociology, life and living, and philosophy. To date, his answers have received over 3.5 million views increasing at the rate of 75,000 a month. He has over 1000 followers. For more info, head here.
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