There are many types of qualitative research. The following are five common approaches:
- Ethnography: the researcher immerses themself in a group to understand its culture
- Grounded theory: data are collected to create new theories that may guide additional data collection
- Phenomenology: the experiences of individuals are used to study a phenomenon
- Narrative research: the way stories are told is studied to understand human experiences
- Action research: a problem is studied and solutions are generated simultaneously
Choosing the right approach depends on the research question you are studying.
Continue reading: What are the types of qualitative research?
Member checking is when participants are allowed to review their data or results to confirm accuracy. This process can happen during or after data collection.
In qualitative research, data are often collected through interviews or observations. Allowing a participant to review their data can help build trust and ensure that their thoughts and experiences are being accurately expressed.
Continue reading: What is member checking in qualitative research?
Qualitative data are generally narrative in nature. They may include interview transcripts or experimenter observations. Different approaches exist to analyze qualitative data, but common steps are as follows:
- Organize the data
- Code the data, sorting it into relevant categories
- Extract and interpret key ideas
Common qualitative data analysis techniques include content analysis, thematic analysis, and discourse analysis.
Continue reading: How do I analyze qualitative data?
Grounded theory is a systematic approach that can be applied in qualitative research. Its goal is to create new theories that are grounded in data.
With a grounded theory approach, data collection and analysis occur at the same time (this is called theoretical sampling). This approach can be helpful when you are conducting research in a new area and do not have a hypothesis related to study outcomes.
Continue reading: What is grounded theory?
Triangulation involves using a combination of data or techniques to answer a research question. Triangulation can help you confirm the validity of your findings. This can be helpful in qualitative research, which is often subjective and vulnerable to bias.
Types of triangulation include the following:
- Data triangulation: uses data from different sources
- Investigator triangulation: has multiple people analyze data
- Theory triangulation: uses different theoretical frameworks to analyze data
- Methodological triangulation: uses different approaches to study the same phenomenon
Continue reading: What is triangulation in qualitative research?
Anonymity and confidentiality are both important aspects of research ethics.
Anonymity means that researchers do not collect personal information that can be used to identify a participant or that someone’s responses cannot be linked to their identity.
Confidentiality means that only the researchers conducting a study can link study responses or data to individual participants.
If you run a study and do not know who your participants are (i.e., you collect no identifying information), your data are anonymous. If you know who your participants are but no one else does (i.e., you collect identifying information but don’t publish it), your data are confidential.
Continue reading: What’s the difference between anonymity and confidentiality?
An institutional review board (IRB) is a committee that reviews proposed studies involving human participants to ensure research ethics are being followed. In most countries, a study must be approved by an IRB before data can be collected.
An IRB is sometimes called a research ethics board (REB), an ethical review board (ERB), or an independent ethics committee (IEC).
Continue reading: What is an institutional review board (IRB)?
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has defined seven principles to protect clinical research participants and promote research ethics:
Social and clinical value: the scientific advances of a research study should justify the costs or risks of conducting this research.
Scientific validity: a study should be designed to address an answerable question using feasible and accepted research methods.
Fair subject selection: participants should be selected based on the scientific aims of the study and should not be included or excluded for reasons unrelated to research goals.
Favorable risk-benefit ratio: the potential risks to participants should be minimized and should be outweighed by potential benefits.
Independent review: an independent review panel should ensure a study is ethical before research begins.
Informed consent: participants should decide whether to voluntarily participate in a study after learning about its research question, methods, potential risks, and benefits.
Respect for potential and enrolled subjects: individuals should be treated with respect throughout the research process.
Continue reading: What are NIH’s 7 principles of ethics in research?
The American Psychological Association (APA) has five principles to guide psychologists in conducting ethical research and scientific work.
Beneficence and nonmaleficence: protect the welfare of research participants and do no harm.
Fidelity and responsibility: serve the best interests of society and the specific communities impacted by research and scientific work.
Integrity: conduct and teach psychology in an accurate and honest manner.
Justice: ensure that all people have equal access to the benefits of psychology services and research.
Respect for people’s rights and dignity: show consideration for people’s dignity and their right to privacy, confidentiality, and autonomy.
Continue reading: What are the APA’s 5 principles of research ethics?
Research ethics are principles that guide scientists, helping them distinguish right from wrong when conducting research. Research ethics help protect the people involved in scientific studies and ensure the integrity of scientific research.
Continue reading: Why are research ethics important?
