What is qualitative research?

Qualitative investigations are those that are dedicated to the description of phenomena and dwells on their characteristics and include, for example, thoughts, opinions, modalities, attitudes, behaviors, etc. It differs from quantitative research, which looks for measurable and comparable data such as percentages, quantities, and probabilities. Experts from the best essay writing service consider it essential to deploy all necessary measures in writing a qualitative research paper. Qualitative research is a method used mainly in the social sciences to study human phenomena that require complex analysis to understand. The researcher approaches the subjects he wants to study and shares his daily life with them, in some cases conducting interviews to inquire about their emotions, ideas, and expectations.
Qualitative techniques: Which one suits me best?
There are various qualitative techniques that can be applied to business management. Let's see some of the most significant:
Participant observation:
Experts consider it elementary, but it is worth remembering that observation is an essential tool for good business management. It is not about observing for observing; the goal is to do it to make sense of the information we collect by analyzing behaviors, attitudes, interactions, and events.
Interview:
It is a common tool in personnel selection processes or others in which you want to obtain information on the profile of workers. It is generally defined as a dialogue and can be of different kinds: structured, semi-structured, in-depth, or even informal.
Focus groups:
Refers to carefully designed discussions to obtain information about a specific area or department of companies. It is an effective tool in cases of strategic planning, identification of needs, and evaluation of programs. Its objective is to promote the participation of the members of the group.
Questionnaires:
It is a data collection instrument. Although it can be applied as a qualitative and quantitative technique, when it comes to the second type, it usually explores aspects of the object of analysis that go beyond numbers and numbers.
Case study:
As its name implies, this technique places the emphasis on a person, entity, organization or movement. The idea is to collect as much information as possible to create the most complete profile of the object of study. Obviously, exploration is qualitative in nature and is especially useful in generating theories and implementing changes in an organization. Qualitative techniques provide added value to business management, as they often explore aspects that quantitative tools do not access. With this contribution, analysis and research become more complex.
Characteristics of qualitative research:

1. Inductive
Inductive reasoning is one that goes from the particular to the general. It is different from deductive reasoning, which from a general law draws a conclusion about a particular case. Qualitative research is inductive because it does not start from general laws or principles that apply to particular cases but, on the contrary, it is dedicated to collecting data from which it can subsequently make generalizations. However, inductive reasoning is used with reservations in qualitative research since the generalizations are not applicable to any studied society but to societies that have certain characteristics. Furthermore, they are presented as hypotheses that can be refuted by another qualitative research.
2. Interaction with the studied subjects
In addition to studying processes in society, the researcher takes into account the way in which he conducts his own research. The researcher can interact directly through the interview or by participating in activities in the study community. But even if it is limited to observation, its mere presence already affects the behaviour of the subjects.
3. Process-oriented
One of the reasons why qualitative research does not seek universal generalizations is because they do not focus on fixed situations or unchanging states of society, but rather study processes. Qualitative research looks at how a society transforms and not the initial or final state of change. It also studies its own process; this means that it is recursive: it refers to itself.
4. The subject in its own frame of reference
When studying a social group or a society far from his own, the qualitative researcher does not judge the attitudes and thoughts of that group from his own point of view but tries to understand it within the framework of values, norms, practices, and beliefs of the studied group. The subjective aspect is always present in this type of research, but attempts are made to identify their own opinions and prejudices, to avoid affecting the research.
5. Holistic
These investigations never study an isolated fact but, to understand each event, behavior, or customs, they adopt a holistic position, that is, they take into account the experience of the subject as a whole. For this, the subjects studied are considered within the framework of their past, their future expectations, and their location within their specific context.
6. Complex data
When studying a human group qualitatively, the measurable and expressible factors in numbers or proportions are minimal. Rather, non-measurable data is observed and described. Therefore, these investigations do not usually allow statistical analysis, and the conclusions of each investigation depend largely on the interpretation of the data obtained.
7. Flexible and evolutionary Due to not having a fixed methodology, qualitative research is adapted to the realities studied. Depending on the phenomena that the researcher encounters, he can pose hypotheses and correct concepts as he progresses.
8. Variety of study objects
Qualitative research takes into account all the participants in an event and all the factors involved, regardless of whether they participate from a central or peripheral location. For example, when studying a social phenomenon, you study not only the leaders but also the behavior of all members of the social group.
9. Advantage
Compared to quantitative research, the advantages of qualitative research are:
• Allows communication with the studied subjects

• Facilitates a horizontal relationship with the investigated groups

• Allows a complex description and analysis of phenomena

• The large amount and variety of data it offers allow other scholars to reach different conclusions and even to continue research.

10. Disadvantages
Compared to quantitative research, the disadvantages of qualitative research are:
• It is difficult to process and compare the information obtained since it does not present quantifiable data

• Results lose objectivity due to depending on the researcher's interpretation
There can be no universal generalization of research results.

Conclusion
Traditionally there have been two forms of research and evaluation: the quantitative and the qualitative. These two aspects have also been applied in business management to try to respond to different challenges and circumstances. While quantitative techniques focus on data collection, numbers, percentages, volumes, and series, qualitative techniques take into account attitudes, cultural aspects, perceptions, relationships, and estimates. In other words, they are two different ways of approaching management phenomena. The question is not whether we should choose one or the other approach. The issue is when to apply some techniques and when others. Finally, more than the type of technique, what is essential is the information and the results that they provide us.