My Concerns About Qualitative Research

Since qualitative research is all about the “why” of something rather than the “how” it is going to be difficult for me to gain and understanding in my mind before getting it out on paper. In quantitative research I could just get some statistics and evidence to back up a topic but with qualitative I have to provide and understanding and give an analysis as to why something is the way it is. Qualitative research requires deep and advanced levels of thinking which will be hard for me because I will have to stay focused for a long period of time on the topic at discussion. 

I feel like it will not be too difficult to write open-ended questions because everyone has an opinion about something. It is easy to come up with questions that do not create yes or no answers so I think if I make the questions broad enough, I will be able to get a wide variety of responses to each question. A big concern I have is that I do not confuse quantitative and qualitative standpoints. It is very easy to drift into using quantitative methods because I feel like I need to provide an explanation as to how something can be the way it is. In my mind, all I can think about is how something can reach a certain point even though that is not necessary for the assignment. SO I will have to try my best to steer clear of quantitative methods.

The best part of researching qualitatively is that it will allow me to reach levels of thinking I’ve probably never been to before as far as research goes. In the past, research has always been about getting facts and using them as support for an assignment. Now I hope to be able to provide reasons as to why people are the way they are or why certain events happened the way they did. Since I am going to be majoring in communications and public relations, it is vital for me to understand qualitative research and methods. I will be facing people for the rest of my life so to have a background in qualitative research will be so insightful for peoples behaviors and motives. 

I know this is going to be a very challenging concept for me to grasp but I am going to try my best because I find it very interesting to understand the “why” of all of the things around me. I am worried my thoughts will not be presented in a clear, understandable way, but I plan on proofreading several times before submitting anything that does not make sense to readers. Mainly, I hope to stay away from quantitative methods because that is the ultimate test in this assignment, whether or not I can note the difference in qualitative and quantitative research. I plan to make an outline comparing qualitative and quantitative research before I begin the essay because I want to make sure I am not confusing the two.