An outline of qualitative methods of research

Type :

Term papers

Pages :

14 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

08/14/2009

Category :

Social studies

Sub category :

Educational studies

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Summary :

Introduction
Panel (or jury) method
1. Delphi method
Use of surveys
Data collection using questionnaires
Types of questionnaire
1. Structured questionnaires
2. Unstructured questionnaires
3. Checklists
4. Self completed questionnaires
5. Interviewer completed questionnaires
6. Good questionnaire layout
Types of question
1. Behavioral questions
2. Attitudinal questions
3. Classification questions
Uses of different types of question
Sentence completion
Response or rating scales
Piloting your questionnaire
Data collection using observation
Advantages of observation
Disadvantages of observation
Field experiments
Value and interpretation of data
Types of personal interview
Reliability Of research
Deciding survey goals
Conclusion

Abstract

Some types of research do not involve numbers or analysis of past performance but, rather, finding out people's opinions, feelings, likes and dislikes, and the motivations behind their buying behavior - in other words, the psychology underlying buying decisions. research into these areas is known as qualitative research, and it is done in very different ways from quantitative research. qualitative research becomes increasingly important as we try to predict further into the future, as the further we try to project, the less reliable are historic results and the more important people's opinions become.

There are problems associated with qualitative research; one is the fact that people often find it very difficult to explain their behavior or their motivations. Another problem is that many people are reluctant to tell a researcher what makes them do what they do. Sometimes interviewees will try to guess the answers the interviewer is looking for and answer and on other occasions respondents may give answers that they believe are true but are simple versions of the true reasons.