Qualitative Research: What, Why and How (...and Should I Even Go There?)

Abstract

Contemplating qualitative research can involve much effort and considerable confusion and doubt. More so when the researcher actually has to make decisions: What types of research questions are answerable with qualitative research? What type of qualitative method is best suited to my question? And...what philosophical commitments am I making just by using qualitative research? Should I even go there? This presentation aims to give hope and clarity via a short history of qualitative methods, a discussion of the contributions that different qualitative methods can make a walk through some of the key elements of rigor that arise both generally and in innovative or mixed method designs.