Qualitative research – Chapter 12 from my book The Teacher’s Guide to Research
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Part 2: The teacher as researcher
Chapter 12: Qualitative methods
Qualitative research focuses on verbal, descriptive data. It is associated with certain research methods — in particular, interviews. This contrasts with methods that gather numerical data (the quantitative methods described in the previous chapter). Many teachers are attracted by qualitative methods. This may be in part because they are put off by the statistics associated with quantitative data, or because qualitative data gathering seems to ask questions more directly. Here, we will look at two of the main methods for gathering verbal data — open interviews and focus groups — and consider their uses and their shortcomings. As we will see, both are helpful and accessible ways of gathering data, but they should not be seen as ‘easy’ research, and they come with their own challenges. The use of questionnaires and observations to gather qualitative data and the use of secondary data will also be considered…