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20 - Qualitative Research Design

from Part III - Data Collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2023

By
Sinikka Elliott ,
Kayonne Christy  and
Siqi Xiao
Edited by
Austin Lee Nichols  and
John Edlund
Austin Lee Nichols
Affiliation:
Central European University, Vienna
John Edlund
Affiliation:
Rochester Institute of Technology, New York
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Summary

The social world is fascinating – full of complexities, tensions, and contradictions. Social scientists have long been interested in better understanding the social world around us. Unlike quantitative research, that focuses on collecting and analyzing numerical data to make statistical inferences about the social world, qualitative research contributes to empirical and theoretical understandings of society by examining and explaining how and why people think and act as they do through the use of non-numerical data. In other words, qualitative research uncovers social processes and mechanisms undergirding human behavior. In this chapter, we will discuss how to design a qualitative research project using two of the most common qualitative research methods: in-depth interviewing and ethnographic observations (also known as ethnography or participant observation). We will begin the chapter by discussing the what, how, and why of interviewing and ethnography. We will then discuss the importance of interrogating one’s underlying ontological and epistemological assumptions regarding research (and the research process) and the steps to follow in designing a qualitative study. We conclude the chapter by reviewing the different elements to consider when developing a qualitative research project.

Keywords

Qualitative ResearchInterviewsEthnography
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Research Methods and Statistics for the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Volume 1: Building a Program of Research
 , pp. 420 - 440
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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