Characteristics and Principles of Qualitative Research

Group 5 :
Fauzi Abdul Aziz B (1808103084)
Giyas Fahmi N (1808103185)
Thoha Ahsin B (1808013204)
Introduction
The gift paper offers an outline of the methodological standards that underpinqualitative
studies and the way those standards vary from the ones of quantitative studies. It is meant to set
the scene for the subsequent papers that define precise strategies to the evaluation of qualitative
data. Within the culture of qualitative studies there are numerous unique theoretical perspectives,
of which those strategies are handiest examples, however they want to be set inside this broader
culture that allows you to spotlight their precise features. Qualitative and quantitative studies
vary from every different in some distance extra than their strategies and data. They are every
primarily based totally on very unique premises approximately each the character of the sector
and the character of our information of it and the way this facts is generated. These strategies
have implications for all elements of studies strategy, together with the evaluation of the best of
studies findings and their wider software or utility. In relation to the latter, loss of element
withinside the reporting of qualitative studies and small pattern sizes has tended to create the
influence that the findings of qualitative studies have little utility outdoor the precise studies
setting. While there may be want for extra rigor in reporting, it wishes to be diagnosed that
qualitative studies can provide insights and understandings with wider relevance, althoughthese
effects are of a unique kind from the ones furnished through quantitative studies.
Discussion
A. Characteristics of Qualitative Research
There are at least ten overlapping trends in qualitative research that researchers should be aware
of when gathering and analyzing data. Patton (1980) addresses these features in Qualitative
Evaluation Methods to aid researchers in the design of studies. These features are explained
using examples from Black English Vernacular (BEV) and the African American rhetorical
tradition in the following pages. Balester's 1993 paper, Cultural divide: A analysis of African-
American college-level authors, is the basis for many of the examples below.(Patton, 2002)

1. Naturalistic Inquiry

Qualitative observational study is naturalistic since it tests a population in its natural

environment. Patton states, "Naturalistic investigation is thus contrasted to experimental research
where the investigator tries to fully manipulate the state of the sample". For example, you would
not perform your research in a predominantly Caucasian college or university if you wanted to
study college students who spoke BEV.

2. Inductive analysis

.Although it helps the researcher to become immersed in a community, this trait is common in
qualitative research. The researcher begins with answers, but as the study progresses, questions
emerge. According to what the analyst needs to know, hypotheses and theories will change over
time. For example, an observer might notice that several BEV speech acts are intended to
improve the speaker's credibility. As a result, the observer's task is to figure out why. This could
lead to further investigation into BEV's rhetorical tactics and goals.

3. Holistic perspective

Qualitative researchers attempt to create a multi-dimensional picture of the problem or issues

under investigation. This entails presenting multiple points of view, identifying the various
factors at play in a situation, and sketching the overall picture that emerges. Researchers are
tasked with identifying the complex interaction of factors in any situation, rather than strict
cause-and-effect relationships among factors.

"A holistic approach assumes that the whole is greater than the sum of its pieces," according to
Patton. In other words, almost any action or conversation must be viewed in the sense of a
community's or culture's overall phenomenon. This feature of qualitative observational study, on
the other hand, may be inconvenient because it can lead researchers to analyze every single
behavior while writing a narrative. A researcher might find, for example, that many BEV
speakers use a particular rhetorical technique in their writing. This phenomenon, however, may
have little to do with BEV's rituals or tactics. It may be related to something else going on in
their lives.(Marabuka, 2015)

4. Personal contact and insight

The researchers concentrate on discovering the meaning that the participants have about the
problem or issue in the qualitative research process, rather than the meaning that the researchers
bring to the research or writers from the literature. The participant meanings often imply a
variety of viewpoints and perspectives on a subject. This is why a qualitative report's theme
should reflect multiple perspectives from the study's participants. The researcher is responsible
for becoming a member of a group in order to conduct a more in-depth investigation.

However, the researcher must be conscious of prejudices (both good and bad). Researchers who
do not believe BEV is a valid type of debate, for example, should be mindful of and recognize
their prejudice prior to studying BEV. A researcher who speaks BEV, on the other hand, may
miss some of the discourse's negative implications.

5. Dynamic systems

The aim of qualitative observational research isn't to find easy, right or wrong answers.
Furthermore, since the researcher is not concerned with finding just one response, changes in a
study are normal. For example, a researcher may obtain a unique perspective on BEV by
observing and interviewing a diverse group of BEV speakers, including both male and female
speakers, as well as speakers from various educational and geographical backgrounds.

6. Unique case orientation

Researchers must bear in mind that each analysis is specific and requires careful consideration.
This is particularly important when comparing cultures. For example, a researcher may wrongly
assume that "Jive" (a 1970s slang term) and BEV are the same thing because they both come
from African-American culture. This is false, and BEV should be regarded as a distinct type of
discourse with its own past, conventions, and applications/contexts.

7. Context sensitivity

. Researchers must be aware of the various variables that affect cultural attitudes, such as values
and beliefs. Knowing that BEV's rhetorical strategies—signifying, running it down, putting
down, putting on, and so on—are context specific, for example, a researcher could investigate
what values and beliefs affect this context specificity.

8. Empathic neutrality

When collecting reports, researchers should try to be as objective as possible. This trait is a
contentious feature of qualitative research since total neutrality is unlikely. For example, since
BEV has strong origins in African-American culture and is closely linked to speakers' identities,
it would be difficult for a researcher not to judge students who fully stop speaking BEV once
they arrive at college. This example exemplifies the complexities of being fully neutral.

9. Design flexibility

Researchers may pursue other topics or concerns that arise as a result of their initial
investigation. Student composing methods, academic achievement, and assimilation or
accommodation to academic discourse are some of the issues that may arise from observing
college students who speak BEV.

10. Multiple methods

Qualitative researchers also collect data in the field, at the place where participants are faced
with the concerns or problems being studied. They don't usually bring people into a lab (which is
a staged situation), nor do they send out instruments for people to fill out, such as in survey
studies. Instead, qualitative researchers collect data from people directly by interacting with them
and watching how they interact and act in their community. The researchers have face-to-face
contact in a natural setting over time.

Rather than relying on a single data source, qualitative researchers usually collect various types
of data, such as interviews, observations, and records. Then they go through all of the data and
try to make sense of it by grouping it into groups or patterns that span all of the data sources.
Qualitative researchers gather data by analyzing records, evaluating behavior, and conducting
interviews with participants. They will use an instrument, but it will be one that the researcher
has developed using open-ended questions. They seldom use or rely on questionnaires or
instruments created by other researchers.

11. Qualitative data

This is a thorough explanation of why a society is what it is. Triangulation, or the use of multiple
data collection methods such as field notes, interviews, writing samples, and other information,
aids in determining a group's cultural phenomenon. For example, a researcher might collect
personal letters from various BEV speakers in order to discover a common bond that runs
through all of their letters. After that, the researcher might interview the participants about their
letter writing to get a variety of perspectives.
12. Summary

In conclusion, the qualitative observational researcher must strive to maintain a nonjudgmental

bias during the analysis. The aim of the researcher is to notice and explain group trends,
similarities, and differences as they occur. The researcher's ability to tell the community or
culture's story in a reasonable and realistic manner is hampered by preconceptions or
assumptions about an individual's or group's conduct. Furthermore, the researcher's preconceived
assumptions prevent him or her from noticing subtle differences in character and speech that may
be crucial in understanding group activities or interactions.

Although total objectivity is unlikely, researchers must approach the field or study community
with an open mind, a knowledge of their own biases, and a willingness to separate as much as
possible from those biases while studying and reflecting the group.(Palmquist, 2021)

B. Principles of Qualitative research

1. Constructivism
Constructivism recognizes that the meaning of something is not found objectively; rather,
it is subjectively created and imposed by people in certain contexts. If the context
changes, then the construction must also change. For example, the meaning that a
Filipino mother makes to be a mother will differ from the definition given by an
American mother.
2. Interpretivism 
Interpretivism emphasizes that the definitions of both are equally important for analysis
and that there is no exact standard definition that requires one universal objective
interpretation that is apparent in the tradition of positivism (a view of quantitative
approach).
3. Inductivism
Inductivism, the new set of knowledge, meanings or theories are emergent through the
process of induction. The approach does not require the testing of a particular extant
theory or set of knowledge; rather it aims to produce new ones.(Draper, 2004)
 Conclusion
Qualitative research is interpretative and naturalistic in nature, as it attempts to recognize
and justify attitudes and behaviors in the context in which they occur. Beyond this
classification, however, it is important to note that there are a variety of theoretical
orientations within the broad tradition of qualitative study. While many, but not all, of
these perspectives come from the social sciences, especially sociology and anthropology,
qualitative research methods are now used in a wide range of fields and disciplines.
Inductivism, interpretivism, and social constructivism are examples of theoretical
constructs or viewpoints.
These approaches address a wide range of subjects, from general metaphysical postulates
about the essence of truth (ontology) and how it is known (epistemology) to more basic
theoretical or ideological issues, such as gender supremacy. Critical realism, for example,
which underpins interpretive phenomenological theory, is preoccupied with ontology and
the practical utility of awareness of truth.

References
Draper, A. (2004). The principles and application of qualitative research. Proceedings of the
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Marabuka, E. (2015). Financial Accounting for NGO Managers. Bachelor Of Social Sciences, 1-
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Palmquist, M. (2021). Characteristics of qualitative observational research. Retrieved from
Writing@CSU: www.colostate.edu.com
Patton, M. Q. (2002). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. Newbury Park: Sage
Publications.