Rutger Reijnoudt Brouwer
V. van den Berg
Business Research 3
2 november 2016
Summary Business Research 3
1
, Chapter 6 Research Methods for Business
What is qualitative research?
• Qualitative is a type of scientific research which must adhere strict rules.
• Qualitative research additionally seeks to understand a given research
problem or topic from the perspectives of the local population it involves.
• Qualitative research is especially effective in obtaining culturally specific
information about the values, opinions, behaviors, and social contexts of
particular populations.
• The less-specific research objective, the more useful qualitative research is.
• Almost all exploratory research is qualitative research.
• Like the purpose of exploratory research, qualitative is good for identifying
causes of problems.
When is it useful?
1. When it is difficult to develop specific and actionable research statements.
• What do we know about how people use their mobile phones?
2. When the research objective is to develop an understanding of a
phenomena in depth and detail.
• Our aim is to discover how our customers interact with our shops and
premises.
3. When the research objective is to learn how consumers use a product in its
natural setting.
• Quantitative data for this sort of research is notoriously bad: “how do you
use this packaging?”
4. When behavior is context-dependent.
• Studying how people interact in a computer game
5. When a fresh approach is needed
2
V. van den Berg
Business Research 3
2 november 2016
Summary Business Research 3
1
, Chapter 6 Research Methods for Business
What is qualitative research?
• Qualitative is a type of scientific research which must adhere strict rules.
• Qualitative research additionally seeks to understand a given research
problem or topic from the perspectives of the local population it involves.
• Qualitative research is especially effective in obtaining culturally specific
information about the values, opinions, behaviors, and social contexts of
particular populations.
• The less-specific research objective, the more useful qualitative research is.
• Almost all exploratory research is qualitative research.
• Like the purpose of exploratory research, qualitative is good for identifying
causes of problems.
When is it useful?
1. When it is difficult to develop specific and actionable research statements.
• What do we know about how people use their mobile phones?
2. When the research objective is to develop an understanding of a
phenomena in depth and detail.
• Our aim is to discover how our customers interact with our shops and
premises.
3. When the research objective is to learn how consumers use a product in its
natural setting.
• Quantitative data for this sort of research is notoriously bad: “how do you
use this packaging?”
4. When behavior is context-dependent.
• Studying how people interact in a computer game
5. When a fresh approach is needed
2
