Qualitative Research Summary
Table of Contents
Week 1: Introduction to Qualitative Research
Week 2: Research Designs – Case Study, Ethnography, Grounded Theory
Week 3: Access and Interviewing
Week 4: Data and Coding
Week 5: Analysis Tactics
Week 6: Writing Up Qualitative Research
, Week 1: Introduction to Qualitative
Research
This first week introduces the foundations of qualitative research. Qualitative inquiry is
concerned with understanding human experience and the meanings individuals attach to
their world. It focuses less on measurement and prediction, and more on interpretation,
context, and process. In management and organizational research, qualitative approaches
help reveal the perspectives of employees, leaders, and stakeholders that numbers alone
cannot capture.
What is Research?
Research is systematic inquiry, undertaken to generate new knowledge or solve practical
problems (Merriam, 2014). Basic research aims to expand theoretical understanding, while
applied research seeks to improve practice. Evaluation research measures the effectiveness
of programs, and action research focuses on solving specific, local problems with
participant involvement.
What is Qualitative Research?
Qualitative research explores how people interpret their experiences, construct meaning,
and understand their worlds (Merriam, 2014). It emphasizes words, stories, and narratives
instead of numbers. Key features include:
• The researcher as the main instrument for data collection and analysis.
• Inductive logic: theory is built from observations and patterns, rather than testing fixed
hypotheses.
• Flexibility: the design is emergent, adapting as insights develop.
• Focus on meaning, process, and context rather than generalization.
• Thick description: vivid, detailed accounts that connect findings to context (Geertz, 1973).
Philosophical Foundations
Qualitative research is grounded in an interpretivist worldview. While positivism assumes a
single reality that can be measured objectively, interpretivism holds that reality is socially
constructed and context-bound. Phenomenology emphasizes lived experience (Husserl),
while symbolic interactionism (Mead) highlights how people create meaning through
Table of Contents
Week 1: Introduction to Qualitative Research
Week 2: Research Designs – Case Study, Ethnography, Grounded Theory
Week 3: Access and Interviewing
Week 4: Data and Coding
Week 5: Analysis Tactics
Week 6: Writing Up Qualitative Research
, Week 1: Introduction to Qualitative
Research
This first week introduces the foundations of qualitative research. Qualitative inquiry is
concerned with understanding human experience and the meanings individuals attach to
their world. It focuses less on measurement and prediction, and more on interpretation,
context, and process. In management and organizational research, qualitative approaches
help reveal the perspectives of employees, leaders, and stakeholders that numbers alone
cannot capture.
What is Research?
Research is systematic inquiry, undertaken to generate new knowledge or solve practical
problems (Merriam, 2014). Basic research aims to expand theoretical understanding, while
applied research seeks to improve practice. Evaluation research measures the effectiveness
of programs, and action research focuses on solving specific, local problems with
participant involvement.
What is Qualitative Research?
Qualitative research explores how people interpret their experiences, construct meaning,
and understand their worlds (Merriam, 2014). It emphasizes words, stories, and narratives
instead of numbers. Key features include:
• The researcher as the main instrument for data collection and analysis.
• Inductive logic: theory is built from observations and patterns, rather than testing fixed
hypotheses.
• Flexibility: the design is emergent, adapting as insights develop.
• Focus on meaning, process, and context rather than generalization.
• Thick description: vivid, detailed accounts that connect findings to context (Geertz, 1973).
Philosophical Foundations
Qualitative research is grounded in an interpretivist worldview. While positivism assumes a
single reality that can be measured objectively, interpretivism holds that reality is socially
constructed and context-bound. Phenomenology emphasizes lived experience (Husserl),
while symbolic interactionism (Mead) highlights how people create meaning through
