Research: Methods & Design

This guide is for DCRS students interested in research methods and design resources, as well as funding opportunities, publication information, and software trials/discounts.

Video providing definition of Qualitative Research

Search Terms

Keywords

Action research	Descriptive qualitative research	Generic qualitative description	Oral history
Activities of daily living	Descriptive qualitative stud*	Grounded theory	Participatory action research
Appreciative inquiry	Descriptive stud*	Health-related quality of life	Participant observation
Assessment*	Discourse analysis	Hermeneutic*	Phenomengraph*
Autoethnograph*	Ethnograph*	Interview	Phenomenolog*
Biographical research	Ethnomethodolog*	Lived experience	Qualitative
Case stud*	Exploratory stud*	Narrativ*	Qualitative meta-synthesis
Constant comparative	Field notes	Naturalistic study	Qualitative method*
Content analysis	Field stud*	Observational method*	Qualitative research
Conservation analysis	Focus group*	Opinion*	Qualitative stud*

Definition

Qualitative research is an inquiry approach useful for exploring and understanding a central phenomenon. To learn about the phenomenon, the inquirer asks participants broad general questions, collects the detailed views of participants in the form of words or images, and analyzes the information for description and themes. From this data, the researcher interprets the meaning of the information, drawing on personal reflections and past research. The final structure of the final report is flexible, and it displays the researcher's biases and thoughts. (Creswell, 2008).

What to learn more? Search within the online version of The SAGE Dictionary of Social Research Methods (requires login).

Explore Further

A larger guide exists focused on qualitative research. https://libguides.nova.edu/qual