Simply defined, research is a search for knowledge. One can also define research as a scientific and systematic pursuit of information on a specific topic. Scientifically, research can also be termed as scientific investigation. Thus, research and scientific enquiry can be considered synonymous. The only difference between the two is that while it is possible to employ scientific method without research, it is not possible to conduct any research without employing scientific methods. Thus, research is a more specialized form of scientific enquiry which in turn is the result of gathering of data, information and facts for the specific purpose.Research refers to a systematic study of one's chosen subject for arriving at both new and valid conclusions. In sociology, we claim to engage in scientific research of social phenomena

Social research pertains to research carried out by social scientists on various facets of society. Research plays a very significant role in the field of social science. In order to study the importance and relationship between social science and research, social research is conducted or undertaken. The research that attempts to measure, describe, explain and predict the social and economic phenomena or social behaviour of human beings is known as ‘social research’.

Meaning of Social research

Social research is basically research conducted by social scientists in order to analyse a vast breadth of social phenomena. The methods used in social research find their roots in classical sociology and statistics.

Social research methods may be divided into two broad divisions. These are: Qualitative and Quantitative methods.

While the former approaches social phenomena through quantifiable evidence, the latter approaches social phenomena through observation, communication with partners and analysis of text. However, the choice of method depends largely on what the scientist wishes to investigate. Prof. Bent Flyvbjerg of Oxford University maintains that the divide between the quality and quantity oriented camps in social research is clearly unfortunate as good research methods require a combination of both.

Characteristics of Social Research

Social research possesses certain unique characteristics. These are as follows:

1. Social research is directed towards finding solutions for social problems.
2. It emphasizes the development of generalizations, theories and principles that help in predicting future occurrences.
3. It is primarily based on empirical/observable experience.
4. It requires meticulous observation.
5. Though it may appear to be unsystematic, social research most often involves

carefully designed procedure.

? It requires an expert researcher who is already acquainted with the previous

nuances of the problem.

? It is characterized by patient and unhurried activity.

Types of Social Research

Sociologists employ a variety of methods to learn about the social world. These methods are not mutually exclusive. Since each research method has strengths and weaknesses, a good research strategy may use several of them. Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997:40) hold that the principal methods of social research include survey and fieldwork.

Survey

A survey entails administering a precisely worded questionnaire to a group of people in order to determine their characteristics, opinions and behaviours. First, the researcher has to define a population universe to which the study applies: this is the group of people about whom generalization is to be made. Once the population universe is identified, a sample—a subset of cases selected to represent the larger population— must be selected, since it is seldom economically feasible or desirable to interview everyone in a chosen population universe.

Two principal type of sampling are used: probability and non-probability sampling.  Once the sample is constructed or drawn, the questionnaire is administered. Questionnaires may contain open- or close-ended questions.

One of the strengths of survey method is that it permits the researcher to draw conclusions about a large number of people on the basis of a much smaller number of interviews. This is a major advantage in terms of time and money. Surveys also have some weaknesses. Sometimes, surveys can be superficial since in order to be feasible economically, they usually call for brief responses to close-ended questions. Many-a times, responses are self-serving, just intended to make the interviewee look good in the eyes of the researcher.

Fieldwork

Fieldwork consists of many methods. The most common fieldwork is that of participant observation. The researchers become a part of the community under study; immerse themselves completely in the daily life of the community and participate in the activities of the members of the community but with a sense of detachment. They then attempt to report all their findings on every aspect of their lives with a sense of impartiality and disinterestedness.

Classic examples of fieldworks are William Whyte’s (1915) Street Corner Society (1943), A Study of Italian-American Working-Class Men and B. Malinowski’s Study of the Tribes of Trobriand Island.

Sometimes the research strategy requires that the researchers stay away from the people they are studying, and simply observe what is going on. A sociologist studying crowd behaviour at a rally or student participation in a seminar would be an example. The researcher in such a study tries to be a ‘fly on the wall’, invisible and unobtrusive, yet constantly records what is going on. This technique is called detached observation.

Interview is another method of fieldwork. It is a detailed conversation designed to obtain in-depth information about a person. In a structured interview, researchers have a detailed list of specific questions to ask. In the semi-structured interview, the researchers have a list of topics to cover depending on the interview situation, to determine the course of questioning and the details of the question.

Participatory research is another method under fieldwork. It is designed to involve the subjects of the research in the research process itself, with an eye to empowering them to overcome some difficulty or problem. This research is usually tied with community action. It is conducted when a group or community wants to engage in some form of social change but lacks the expertise to do so. The researcher is invited to become a fully engaged member of the social change process, helping the members of the group to conduct the necessary research and training them in the techniques for doing so.

Another method is experiment. In it, two groups are chosen—the experimental group and the control group. An experimental group is one which is exposed to the independent variable. The control group is kept constant—no experiment is carried out on it. In the end, both the groups are compared to find out the resultant effects of the experiment.

MAJOR STEPS IN SOCIAL RESEARCH

Research process includes steps or a series of actions and logical sequence of thosev steps to carry out research effectively. The various steps in a research process are not mutually separate, exclusive or discrete, but they at the same time need not always follow each other. The researcher, at each step, anticipates subsequent steps and requirements. The tentative order of the steps and the procedural guidelines of the research process are as given below:

1. Formulating the research problem: The researcher must clearly define the research problem, i.e., the area of interest, the matter to be inquired into, etc.
2. Extensive literature survey: After formulating the research problem, a brief summary of it should be prepared—this is an essential step.
3. Development of a working hypothesis: After surveying the literature, the researcher should clearly state the working hypothesis, which is a tentative assumption made before testing it in logical or empirical sequences.
4. Preparing the research design: The next step, after clearly defining the research problem, is preparing the suitable research design. The research design includes the conceptual framework within which the research would be carried out. A good and planned research design helps to carry out the study in an efficient manner saving time and resources.
5. Determining sample design: A universe or population includes all the items under inquiry. If all the items in the population are inquired then such an inquiry is called census inquiry.

1. Collecting the data: In most cases, the data in hand is insufficient and there is always a need of fresh data. There are different ways of collecting the appropriate data which differ considerably in terms of relevance, expenditure, time and other resources.
2. Execution of the project: This is an important step in the research process because if the execution proceeds on the correct lines, the collected data would be dependable, adequate and accurate.
3. Analysis of data: After collecting the data, the next step is analysing the data. The data analysis includes a number of closely-related operations like specifying different categories of data, differentiating and tabulating the data into different categories, applying the statistical techniques and formulae to the data, doing the right calculations and then drawing statistical inferences. Various tests, such as chi-square test, t-test, F-test, etc., help in data analysis.
4. Hypothesis-testing: After analysing the data, the researcher should test the working hypothesis against the statistical inferences obtained after analysing the data.
5. Generalizations and interpretation: If a hypothesis is tested and upheld sufficient number of times, the researcher can arrive at a generalization. The degree of success of a research is calculated on the basis of how close the arrived generalizations are to the acceptability.
6. Preparation of the report or the thesis: Finally, the researcher has to prepare the report of what has been studied. Report must be written with great care keeping the following layout in mind:

Criteria of Good Research

Whatever be the type of research one undertakes, certain common criteria of good scientific methods have to be followed. A good research follows logical methods, is systematic, and structured in accordance with well-defined sets of rules and practices to enable the researcher in arriving at dependable conclusions. Both, deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning, should be followed for meaningful research.

1. Good research also implies obtaining reliable data which provides sound validity to the research findings. The following principles underlie a good research criteria:
2. The aim and objective of the research being conducted should be clearly specified.
3. The research procedure should be replicable so that if the research needs to be continued or repeated, it can be done easily.
4. The research design should be so chosen that the results are as objective as possible.
5. Interpretation of any research should be done keeping in mind the flaws in the procedural design and the extent to which it has an effect on the results.
6. Research should be carried out systematically. It should progress in predefined stages, and researchers should avoid using their intuition or guesswork to arrive at conclusions.
7. Research should be logical so that it is meaningful, and help in decisionmaking.
8. Research should be empirical as far as possible.
9. The results of the research should only be used and generalized for the population for which the data provides an adequate basis.
10. The validity and reliability of the data used in research should be double checked.
11. A good research produces results that are examinable by peers, methodologies that can be replicated, and knowledge that can be applied to real-world situations.

Qualitative and quantitative methods

Methods are the ways of conducting research. Data collection and analysis are twin objectives of any method. Methods use specific techniques of data collection which may be ideologically coloured. At the same time the analysis to depend upon the perspective used by sociologist. For example positivist rely more on statistical data/ techniques , correlation , causal analysis and field experiments whereas non positivist use observation methods, case studies, etc. But recently use of methods have been done by different perspectives more liberally. For example critical/ post modern methodology stress more on “purpose’ rather than use of any specific method

Quantitative Methods

It is based on statements such as ‘anything that exists in a certain quantity and can be measured.’ Quantification is essentially to enhance precision in the description of variables and the discernment of the relationships among them. It is structuring an empirical event into a mathematical model which, when juxtaposed on a specific mathematical proposition already formulated, verifies the latter.

Quantitative approach uses ‘measurement’ as the most precise and universally accepted method for assigning quantitative values to the characteristics or properties of objects or events for the purpose of discovering relationships between variables under study.

Measurement is defined as the assignment of numbers to objects and events according to logically accepted rules.

There are a wide variety of methods that are common in quantitative measurement.

Use of Statistical data

The second aspect of positivism concerns its use of statistical data. Positivists believed it was possible to classify the social world in an objective way. Using these classifications it was then possible to count sets of observable social facts and so produce statistics. For example, Durkheim (1970) collected data on social facts such as the suicide rate and membership of different religions.

Comparative method

The major founders of the discipline—Marx, Durkheim and Weber—all employed the comparative method. The comparative method uses a similar scientific’ logic to that employed by positivists, or to that used in the deductive approach supported by Popper. Systematic comparisons can be used either to establish correlations and ultimately causal connections and supposed ‘laws’, or to rigorously test hypotheses.

The comparative method, as its name suggests, involves the use of comparisons. These may be comparisons of different societies, of groups within one or more societies, and comparisons at the same or different point in time.  The data used in the comparative method may come from any of the primary or secondary sources

Marx (1974) compared a wide variety of societies in order to develop his theory of social change and to support his claim that societies passed through different stages

Durkheim, too, used the comparative method in his study of the division of labour and the change form mechanical to organic solidarity         

In the  Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1958, first published 1930) Weber systematically compared early capitalist  countries in Western Europe and North America with countries  such as China and India to try to show a correlation between early capitalism and  Calvinism 

Modern sociologists have followed in the footsteps of Marx, Durkheim and Weber. David Martins’  comparison of secularization indifferent countries Cicourel’s  comparison of juvenile justice in two  Californian  cities Michael Mann’s  comparison of  networks of power in different  territories Fiona Devine’s  Comparison of affluent workers in Luton  in the 1990s and similar workers in the 1960s

Field experiments

Sociologists do carry out experiments but they are normally outside a laboratory. Such experiments are known as field experiments. They involve intervening in the social world in such a way that hypotheses can be tested by isolating particular variables. For example, Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) tested the hypothesis that self-fulfilling prophecies could affect educational attainment by manipulating the independent variables of the pupils’ IQ (intelligence quotient) scores known to teachers Brown and Gay (1985) conducted field experiments in which they made bogus applications for jobs by letter and telephone, identifying them as being from different ethnic groups Although field experiments overcome the problem of experiments taking place in an unnatural setting, these experiments do have other problems associated with them. First, it is not possible to control variables as closely as it is in the laboratory. Second, in some field experiments the fact that an experiment is taking place can affect the results. This is often known as the Hawthorne Effect, after a famous experiment conducted at the Hawthorne works of the Western Electricity Company in Chicago and anaysed by Elton Mayo (1933)

Characteristics of Quantitative Research

The chief characteristics of quantitative research are mentioned as under:

1. It utilises experimental methods and quantitative measures to test specific hypothetical generalizations with narrow angle lens.
2. Quantitative research uses scientific methods.
3. Behaviour of the subjects under study is assumed to be regular and predictable. Quantitative research attempts to study behaviour under controlled conditions. The nature of observation is objective, i.e., different observers agree on what is observed.
4. Most of the common research objectives in quantitative approach aim at description, explanation and prediction of social phenomenon. The emphasis is not on the deep understanding of the phenomenon or content.
5. Closed ended structured questionnaires, tests, attitudes scales, rating scales, etc. are used to collect quantitative data based on precise measurement.
6. The dominant sampling strategy in quantitative research is probability sampling, which depends on the selection of a random and representative sample from a larger population. The purpose of probability sampling is subsequent generalization of the research findings to the population from which the sample was selected. Generally, large samples are used in quantitative survey studies.
7. Quantitative research is deductive in that it tests theories which have already been proposed. It aims at analysis of representative and validated quantitative data, through the use of sophisticated statistical methods and software packages. findings are based on identified statistical relationships and generalizable findings. Using the principles of probability, quantitative research makes predictions representative of a large population.

In conclusion, quantitative research involves successive phases of hypothesis formulation, data collection, analysis and interpretation. Using deductive approach, it seeks to establish facts, make predictions, and test hypotheses that have already been stated.

Major Types of Quantitative Research

Keeping in view the distinguishing characteristics of quantitative research, following are the main types of approaches to quantitative research:

Descriptive survey research: This type of research attempts to answer questions about the description of a phenomenon under study. Usually, it involves studying various variables.

Correlation research: These studies are conducted to determine whether, and to what degree, a relationship exists between two or more variables.

Causal-comparative research: This type of research seeks to discover a cause effect relationship between two or more different programmes, methods, or groups. It is also called ex-post-facto research because in this type, the researcher usually does not have control over the causal factor or independent variable as it is studied after the occurrence of the fact.

Experimental research: The experimental research also looks for a cause effect relationship between two or more variables. But this relationship is studied under the controlled condition which is not the case in causal-comparative research. Various types of experimental designs are used in conducting experimental research. The selection and use of a particular experimental design depends upon the nature of problem and its objectives.

Advantages of Quantitative Research

Quantitative research has played a significant role in conducting educational studies because of the following advantages:

1. The results are statistically reliable. Quantitative research mostly uses statistical methods in drawing comparison between concepts, ideas, products, packages, etc.
2. Quantitative research involves quantifications based on numbers. Thus, it is wellsuited to addressing the ‘who’, ‘what’, ‘when’ and ‘where’ of individual (consumer) behaviour.
3. The results of quantitative research can be generalized. The findings can be projected to the whole population.
4. The use of multivariate methods and analysis is helpful in measuring and controlling the variable or variables which intervene between the independent and dependent variables.

Use of Quantitative Research

There are four chief categories of research questions that quantitative research can answer:

1. The first type of research question that demands a quantitative answer is: For instance, How many students from below poverty line have opted for studying education? Quantitative research can be used for answering this type of question.
2. Only quantitative methods can be used to study numerical changes accurately: Is the number of girls in our university falling or rising? A quantitative study is needed to answer these questions.
3. Generally, for explaining phenomena: What factors relate to change in the livelihood of socially backward classes over time?
4. The ultimate activity which requires quantitative research is the testing of hypotheses: For example: Whether there is a relationship between students’ achievements and their self-esteem and social background can be explained with the help of quantitative research. One could come up with the hypothesis that lower social class background leads to low self-esteem, which would in turn, be related to low achievement. Using quantitative research, we can try to test this model.

Limitations of Quantitative Research

Despite a number of advantages of the quantitative research, there are also many disadvantages. Some of those are mentioned as under:

1. Quantitative research uses quantitative data. These data are closed-ended and hence do not provide depth and detail.
2. In certain research contexts, especially in the field of education, it is not always possible to formulate specific hypothetical generalizations.
3. The occurrence of an event is both quantitative and qualitative. Hence, its measurement on the basis of selective observation and selective recording of information may involve researcher ‘bias’.
4. The primary disadvantage of quantitative research is that issues are only measured if they are known prior to the beginning of the study especially in the survey research.
5. Quantitative research is neither appropriate nor cost effective for studying why people act or think as they do. In such cases it is difficult to quantify the action or thinking of people. The selection and use of large samples for drawing reliable statistics also involve lot of efforts in terms of money and manpower.

Qualitative Methods

Qualitative method takes into consideration the totality of a phenomenon and does not attempt at analyzing it into quantifiable (measurable) components. It employs a naturalistic approach, which uses a variety of interpretive research methodologies that seeks to understand phenomenon in context-specific settings.

Qualitative research, in contrast to quantitative approach, is by some regarded as less ‘scientific’ and ‘softer’. It describes social phenomena as they occur naturally. No attempt is made to manipulate the situation under study.

Qualitative research emphasizes:

1. An ‘emic’ perspective viewing events, actions, values, beliefs, etc. from the point of view of people who are being studied (phenomenological),
2. Detailed perspectives of the participants in the ‘naturalistic’ setting,
3. Contextualizing meanings , behaviour, events, etc. within a holistic frame,
4. An inductive, open and flexible approach, and
5. A definite preference for ‘theory generation’ rather than theory testing during the research process.

There are wide varieties of methods that are common in qualitative measurement. In fact, the methods are largely limited by the imagination of the researcher.

Participant Observation

One of the most common methods for qualitative data collection, participant observation is also one of the most demanding. It requires that the researcher become a participant in the culture or context being observed. The literature on participant observation discusses how to enter the context, the role of the researcher as a participant, the collection and storage of field notes, and the analysis of field data.

Direct Observation

Direct observation is distinguished from participant observation in a number of ways. First, a direct observer doesn't typically try to become a participant in the context. However, the direct observer does strive to be as unobtrusive as possible so as not to bias the observations. Second, direct observation suggests a more detached perspective. The researcher is watching rather than taking part. Consequently, technology can be a useful part of direct observation. For instance, one can videotape the phenomenon or observe from behind one-way mirrors. Third, direct observation tends to be more focused than participant observation. The researcher is observing certain sampled situations or people rather than trying to become immersed in the entire context. Finally, direct observation tends not to take as long as participant observation. For instance, one might observe child-mother interactions under specific circumstances in a laboratory setting from behind a one-way mirror, looking especially for the nonverbal cues being used.

Unstructured Interviewing

Unstructured interviewing involves direct interaction between the researcher and a respondent or group. It differs from traditional structured interviewing in several important ways. First, although the researcher may have some initial guiding questions or core concepts to ask about, there is no formal structured instrument or protocol. Second, the interviewer is free to move the conversation in any direction of interest that may come up. Consequently, unstructured interviewing is particularly useful for exploring a topic broadly. However, there is a price for this lack of structure. Because each interview tends to be unique with no predetermined set of questions asked of all respondents, it is usually more difficult to analyze unstructured interview data, especially when synthesizing across respondents.

Content Analysis

Content analysis sometimes known as document analysis is a method of systematic, examination of communications or of current records or documents. Instead of questioning respondents according to some scale items or observing their behaviour directly the content – analyser takes the communications or documents prepared by the respondents and systematically find out the frequency or proportion of their appearances.

In content or documents analysis the primary sources of data are: letters, autobiographies, diaries, compositions, records, reports, printed forms, themes or other academic work, books, periodicals, bulletins or catalogues, syllabus, court decisions, pictures, films,cartoons etc. It is the obligation of the researchers to establish the trustworthiness of these data that have been drawn. Content analysis can also be used with responses of projective test with all kinds of verbal materials and with materials specially produced for research problems.

Merits and Demerits

First content analysis is applicable to a wide variety of materials such as creativity,  attitude, and ethnocentrisms, stereotypes, curriculum changes values, interest, religiosity, college budgets etc.

Second content analysis can also be used to examine the effect of experimental manipulation upon the dependent variables. If the investigator wants to study the effect of practice upon the improvement of handwriting of children, content analysis may be of no less importance than any experimental design.

Third content analysis is also used to validate other methods of observation. Suppose one wants to validate a self-discloure inventory. It is expected that people in general would not like to give personal information against which the test can be validated. But subjects can be asked some projective-type of questions and the responses can be content-analysed. Subsequently the test can be validated against the content- analysed response.

Despite these merits content analysis should be used with caution because of the complexities involved

Case Study

As a traditional method of qualitative analysis, case study is an intensive study through which the researcher recognizes precisely the factors and causes of a particular phenomenon.

Case study, intensive investigation of a particular unit, is often designated as a method, a technique and even an approach to social reality as well as a mode of organising data about an individual, a family or a group of persons. In order to identify the causal factors, case study not only examines the complex situation, but also the combination of factors operating within it.

Thus, the case study is one of the important types of non-experimental research. The case study is not a specific technique rather it is one way of organising social data for the purpose of viewing social reality. It tends to preserve the unitary character of a social object being studied. It tends to examine a social unit as a whole. The unit may be a person a family a social group a social institution or even a community

A case study may utilise interview, observation, and psychological tests.

It is a valuable research strategy in the fields of clinical psychology and human development.

Using case study a researcher is able to have an in-depth look at one person.

Those unique aspects of a person’s life which cannot be duplicated for practical or ethical reasons are captured by case study.

With the help of case study you can try to understand fantasies hopes fears traumatic experiences upbringing or anything that helps to understand a person’s mind and behaviour.

Case studies provide a narrative or detailed description of the events that takes place in a person’s life. Freud’s insight that led to the development of psychoanalytic theory emerged from his observation and reflections on individual cases.

It should be remembered that the person studied as a case is unique and our judgments are of unknown reliability.

Case studies provide detailed in-depth depictions of people’s lives but we need to exercise caution when generalizing from individual cases. They are like naturalistic observations and all one can do is to describe the course of events.

The problem of validity of single case study is very serious. It is therefore recommended that researchers should use objective measurement techniques multiple sources of information and frequent assessment of relevant variables. The uses of case study as a research strategy requires that the cases must be chosen that represent the variable in question and one must have sufficient access to the cases. Careful planning of data- collection is very necessary. Throughout the data-collection process the investigator is required to maintain a chain of evidence linking the various data sources having bearing on the research questions

Characteristics of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research has some characteristics which distinguish it from quantitative research.

1. Qualitative research makes use of naturalistic inquiry. It aims at studying real world situations
2. The researcher generates new hypotheses and grounded theory from data collected during field work. It aims to discover important categories, dimensions, and interrelationships. The data are used to develop concepts and theories that help the researcher to understand the phenomenon.
3. Most of the common research objectives in qualitative research aim at description, exploration, and discovery using ‘wide-angle’ and ‘deep-angle’ lens approach so as to examine the breadth and depth of phenomenon and to learn more about it. The whole phenomenon under study is ‘understood as a complex system that is more than the sum of its parts; focus on complex interdependencies not meaningfully reduced to a few discrete variables and linear, cause-effect relationships’.
4. The behaviour of the subjects under study is assumed to be fluid, dynamic, situational, social, contextual and personal.
5. Qualitative research makes use of qualitative data. These include ‘detailed, thick description; inquiry in depth; direct quotations capturing people’s personal perspectives and experiences’. The researcher attempts to observe and describe the settings as they are. , maintaining emphatic neutrality. The data are in the form of words, images, and categories.
6. Purposive sampling is the dominant strategy in qualitative research. He collects qualitative data using in-depth interviews, participant observation, field notes, and open-ended questions. The researcher is the primary data collection instrument, ‘researcher’s personal experiences and insights are an important part of inquiry and critical to  understanding the phenomenon’.
7. Qualitative research emphasises ‘unique case orientation’. It assumes each case is special and unique. Cross-case analysis follows from and depends on the quality of individual case studies.
8. The analysis of qualitative data requires organizing raw data into logical, meaningful categories, and examining them in holistic fashion for interpretation to others. The reports are narrative with contextual description and direct quotations from research participants.

The characteristics described above indicate that qualitative research is not one single method or strategy for research but a wide range of discrete strategies and methods. Whereas quantitative research seeks causal determination, prediction, and generalization of findings, qualitative research seeks understanding, exptrapolation and explanation to similar situations.

Major Types of Qualitative Research

The variety in types of qualitative research is directly based on the varieties in the methods as well as varieties in the sources of data. For example, a researcher may focus on different sources of data like:

1. One’s own immediate experience;
2. Others’ experiences, which one might seek to understand through:
3. Collecting data which concern past, present or future:

The questions and problems which most often come from real-world observations, contents or situations also provide a number of different ways to view the theoretical perspectives of various types of qualitative research. Patton (1990, p. 88) has suggested a list of ten theoretical perspectives of qualitative research alongwith their disciplinary roots and the questions they pose. These include: (1) Ethnography; (2) Phenomenology; (3) Heuristics; (4) Ethnomethodology; (5) Symbolic interactionism; (6) Ecological psychology; (7) Systems theory; (8) Chaos theory: nonlinear dynamics; (9) Hermeneutics; and (10) Orientational, qualitative.

Advantages of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research based upon the phenomenological paradigm has the following advantages:

1. This approach has the advantage of studying a phenomenon in a holistic perspective.
2. It utilises qualitative data which are detailed and descriptive. These data indicate what people have said in their own words about their experiences and interactions in natural setting, and after careful analysis, the data provide useful and depth answers to the research questions of decision makers and information users.
3. Qualitative research is most suitable in the study of human behaviour which is fluid, dynamic, situational, social, contextual and personal.
4. The researcher uses inductive analysis for generating new hypotheses from the details and specifics of the data during field work. He/she begins by exploring genuinely open questions rather than testing theoretically derived deductive hypotheses.
5. Qualitative research utilises flexible design and ‘avoids getting locked into rigid designs.’ Design flexibility permits the researcher to adjust the direction of the research process to the selection and use of tools as well as samples. 
6. The researcher has direct and close contact to the people, situation, and phenomenon under study which are helpful in understanding a phenomenon in depth and detail.
7. Qualitative research is cost effective in limited setting . It uses case study, small and purposive sampling strategies in collecting detailed information about the phenomenon.
8. The final reports of qualitative research studies are detailed and interesting narrations about the phenomenon.

Use of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research is extensively employed where small sections of the population (or groups of people who have common traits) particularly interest the researcher. Some of the main reasons for carrying out qualitative researches are as follows:

1. For assessing a market, product or consumer, in the absence of any other information.
2. For identification and investigation of concepts.
3. Apprise the researchers about a group of consumers, if they are not aware of them.
4. For identification of behavioural patterns, values, approaches, views and purpose.
5. For setting up precedence among types of behaviour, beliefs, opinions and attitudes.
6. For detailed identification of problems and to build models for further research.
7. To append to the points emerging from a pilot or major survey.
8. For providing verbatim remarks and anecdotes from participants, so that the outcome of the research can be made available to the client.
9. For testing the functioning of a questionnaire, by going through questions related to routing, signposting, understanding and ambiguity

Limitations of Qualitative Research

Qualitative research has some limitations also which are mentioned as under:

1. Subjective bias is a constant threat to objective data gathering tools and analysis techniques. For example, an individual may intentionally attempt to exhibit an artificial behaviour when he/she knows that he is being observed during observation. Similarly during an interview, the interviewees may not respond freely, frankly and accurately. There is a constant danger of subjectivity on the part of an observer/interviewer during observation/interview.
2. The findings of qualitative research lack generalizations because of the nature and size of samples used for data collection. The samples are small in size and mostly purposive. Pure subjectivity in the selection of such samples undermines their credibility.
3. Qualitative research utilizes a variety of methodologies in studying a phenomenon in holistic perspective. In certain cases, it is difficult to focus on complex interdependencies of its parts and understand the meaning of the phenomenon as a whole.

Quantitative Methods	Qualitative Methods
Uses numbers & statistics	Uses ‘text’
Formalized methods	Less formalized methods
Many observations	Few observations
Little information.	Much information.
Makes inferences from specific to general.	Not so concerned with inference.
Replicable analyses	Not necessarily replicable
Seeks social ‘regularities’ or ‘laws’.	Seeks ‘understanding’ & interpretation