Lecture 9: Unpacking the ‘Why’ – Qualitative Research Methods

Qualitative research is a non-numerical approach that originates in fields like Anthropology, Sociology, and Psychology. It’s concerned with words and text rather than numbers, seeking to interpret social reality from the participants’ point of view (the emic perspective).

1. Quantitative vs. Qualitative

Feature	Quantitative (Epidemiology, Trials)	Qualitative (Behavior, Context)
Data Type	Numbers, counts, statistical measures.	Words, text, rich descriptions.
Logic	Deductive (Testing a pre-defined hypothesis).	Inductive (Generating new theories from the data).
Goal	Measure objectively; ensure repeatability.	Interpret social reality; understand context and processes.
Validity	Precision and statistical validity.	Credibility of responses and investigator.

2. When to Use Qualitative Methods

Qualitative methods are essential when you need to understand:

• Why events happened, how they happened, and under what circumstances.
• The meaning of people’s behavior and the insight into their perspective.
• Areas that are insufficiently researched or when you need to understand local vocabulary (e.g., how people in a village talk about “cavities”).
• A holistic view of a social phenomenon through the participants’ eyes.

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3. Main Qualitative Research Methods

Qualitative methodology is often emergent and iterative; the process becomes a partnership between the participant and the investigator.

A. In-Depth Interviews (IDIs)

• What it is: Open-ended, one-to-one interviews between the investigator and the participant.
• Goal: To discover the interviewee’s own framework of meaning and obtain rich, contextualized information.
• Technique: Uses an interview guide (set of items) and probes to get deep understanding.
• When to Use: For complex or highly sensitive subject matters (e.g., sexual behaviors, drug use) where a participant would not talk openly in a group.
• Disadvantage: Findings are not generalizable in the strict quantitative sense due to purposeful sampling; analysis of long transcripts is time-consuming.

B. Focus Group Discussions (FGDs)

• What it is: Open-ended interviews conducted with a small, homogeneous group (usually 6 to 8 participants).
• Goal: To capture information generated through group interaction and observe social norms. A moderator guides the discussion.
• When to Use: To generate ideas, identify problems, or understand local terminologies in a cost and time-efficient manner compared to many IDIs.
• Disadvantage: Difficult to access personal or sensitive behaviors; results can be skewed by dominant personalities; data is not generalizable.

C. Participant Observation

• What it is: The researcher becomes a participant in the social event or group being studied.
• Goal: To obtain deep and detailed data by being immersed in the context.
• Disadvantage: Difficult to systematically collect data (taking notes/recording) because the researcher is actively involved.

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4. Analysis and Use of Qualitative Data

Qualitative data analysis deals with transcribed text.

• Analysis Approaches:
  • Grounded Theory: Starts with the data and then develops new theories.
  • Content Analysis: Starts with a theoretical framework and analyzes data to see if it supports the theory.
• Process: Transcribe $\rightarrow$ Code themes and categories $\rightarrow$ Build relationships $\rightarrow$ Illustrate themes using direct quotes (codes) from interviews.

5. Integrating Methods (Triangulation)

No single method can provide all the explanations. Triangulation is the process of trying to understand the same topic from different angles using different methods, theories, or data sources.

• Utility of Qualitative Methods in Research:
  • Preliminary Step: Used to generate ideas and refine the questionnaire categories for a Quantitative Survey. (e.g., doing IDIs before designing the SuperPaste survey).
  • Explanatory Tool: Used after a quantitative study to understand why the numerical results occurred (e.g., why SuperPaste had a low adherence rate).
  • Primary Method: Used when the study objective is purely to understand behaviors and context.

Qualitative research is a powerful tool to identify the determinants of health—the attitudes and perceptions—that explain why people make certain health choices.