QUALITATIVE RESEARCH AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN DAILY LIFE By the end of this module, learners are expected to: • Differentiate quantitative from qualitative research. • Explain the kinds of research and provide sample research topics. • Integrate the uses and importance of qualitative research into their study. Learning Objectives A process of solving problems using data acquired from in-depth observation and interviews from a group of people or set of documents (Avilla, 2016). It is also a studies that investigate the quality of relationships, activities, situations or materials (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2010). This research is subjective in a way that it focuses on the respondents’ point of view and does not rely mainly on numbers but rather on ideas that will be interpreted from all the data collected in order to form generalizations and possible constructs and theory. CS_RS11-IIIb-1 Uses and Importance of Qualitative Research 1. Qualitative research explores a not well-defined phenomenon. 2. Qualitative research refines complicated details into more manageable parts. 3. Qualitative Research explains intensively the causes or the reasons for a phenomenon. 4. Qualitative Research describes in full detail the emotions or lived experiences of research subjects. CS_RS11-IIIb-1 1. The researcher has an important role in qualitative research. CS_RS11-IIIb-1 2. Qualitative data are gathered and presented in a form of words, descriptions, pictures, or meaning, and not in numbers. CS_RS11-IIIb-1 3. Qualitative researcher is concerned with the process involved. CS_RS11-IIIb-1 4. Inductive reasoning is used in analyzing data. CS_RS11-IIIb-1 5. Qualitative researcher is concerned with meanings and interpretations. CS_RS11-IIIb-1 Quantitative Research is a collection and analysis of numerical data to describe, explain, predict, or control the phenomenon of interest. Qualitative Research is the collection, analysis, and interpretation of comprehensive narrative and visual data to gain insights into a phenomenon of interest. QUANTITATIVE QUALITATIVE • To quantify data and generalize • results. • Questions asked are: “How many”, “How often”, “How much”. SAMPLE/ NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS • A large number of respondents • that represent the entire population of interest being studied. DATA COLLECTION • • Surveys Experimentation • • • Interview Focus-group discussion Observation DATA ANALYSIS • Statistical • • Non-statistical Thematic Analysis OBJECTIVES • To understand the feelings, thoughts, ideas, or life experiences of participants. Questions asked are: “What”, “Why”, and “How”. A small number of nonrepresentative cases. Basic Research/Pure Research. It aims to add more information to the existing body of knowledge. Applied Research. It aims to find applications or to create interventions or programs that will help in the improvement of a certain situation or condition. Kinds of Research Applied research has two types: 1. Action Research. The purpose of action research is to diagnose the existing problem and offer a transformative program to solve it. 2. Evaluation Research. The purpose of this kind of applied research is to evaluate the worth of an existing program. CS_RS11-IIIb-1 This is usually associated to anthropology which is the study of humanity. This approach deals with an ethnographer that studies the entire culture of a particular group which is not only limited to ethnic group. The most common ethnographic approach is participant observation, in which the researcher becomes immersed in the culture under study as an active participant, taking extensive notes about observations and impressions. CS_RS11-IIIb-2 This narrates the life experiences to the researcher or from available document which highlights special events in the individual’s life. It could be either be biography or autobiography. • Biography is a narrative research which narrate the experiences of other person. • Autobiography is a written account of the individual who is the subject of the study. CS_RS11-IIIb-2 This approach aims to generate a theory after all the data have been collected from the result of thorough interviews and observations which are carefully analyzed and interpreted inductively. Some of the topics that are usually used in this approach are the system of disciplines of skilled workers and how coaches maintain discipline among his team players. CS_RS11-IIIb-2 This approach presents a detailed analysis of a specific case of an individual, one group of people or one school. CS_RS11-IIIb-2 This approach explores the world of participants by gaining thoughts and perceptions and find the common ground to every experience to a particular phenomenon. In this approach, participants relive their experiences in order to obtain the very essence of these thoughts and perceptions that the researcher wants to identify and describe. CS_RS11-IIIb-2 Directions: Read the passage below and answer the guide questions. Jan Michael is interested in classical music. Moreover, he is fond of the composers behind his music. He has studied the life stories of Beethoven and Mozart. In his research, he also made a comparison of the two composers in terms of family background, hobbies, compositions, and inspirations for their compositions. CS_RS11-IIIb-1 Guide Questions What is the field of interest of Jan Michael? 2. How would you describe his research? 3. If you would be the one to make a research based on your field of interest, what would be your chosen topic and what approach should you apply? 1. CS_RS11-IIIb-1 Books Avilla, Ruel A. (2016). DIWA Senior High School Series: Practical Research 1. DIWA Learning Systems Inc. CS_RS11-IIIa