10 Distinctive Qualities of Qualitative Research

Researchers conduct qualitative research because they acknowledge the human condition and want to learn more, and think differently, about a research issue than what is usual from mostly numerical quantitative survey research data.  Not surprisingly, the unique nature of qualitative inquiry is characterized by a distinctive set of attributes, all of which impact the design of qualitative research one way or the other.  The 10 unique attributes of qualitative research* are the:

1. Absence of “truth” With all the emphasis in qualitative research on reality and the human condition, it might be expected that qualitative inquiry is in the business of garnering “the truth” from participants.  Instead of “truth,” the qualitative researcher collects information from which some level of knowledge can be gained.  The researcher does not acquire this information and knowledge in a vacuum but rather in a context and, in this way, the research data are a product of…