A qualitative study design is an approach used to describe, explore, and gain deep insight into people’s experiences, perceptions, behaviours and the meanings they assign to events or situations. Rather than measuring variables numerically, qualitative research seeks to understand how and why something occurs from the viewpoint of those experiencing it.

Qualitative research is especially valuable when studying complex, nuanced or context-dependent issues that cannot be captured through quantitative measures alone. It aims to provide a rich, detailed understanding of human experiences, interactions and social processes.

What qualitative research typically investigates

Qualitative studies commonly explore:

• Experiences and perceptions
• Attitudes, beliefs and motivations
• Behaviours and decision-making processes
• Meanings, interpretations and lived realities
• Social, cultural and contextual influences

These studies offer depth and detail that help researchers understand phenomena holistically.

Examples of qualitative research approaches

Qualitative research encompasses various methodological traditions, each with its own focus and reasoning processes. Common approaches include:

• Ethnography: Studying cultures or groups in their natural settings
• Grounded theory: Developing theory from systematically gathered data
• Phenomenology: Exploring lived experiences and their meanings
• Narrative research: Studying stories and personal accounts

These approaches guide how data are collected, analysed and interpreted.

Research paradigms and philosophies

Qualitative research is grounded in distinct philosophical and epistemological perspectives. These may include:

• Ontology: Assumptions about the nature of reality
• Epistemology: Assumptions about how knowledge is created

Most qualitative research aligns with:

Constructivist or interpretivist paradigms, which emphasise subjective meaning and co-constructed knowledge

This contrasts with positivist and postpositivist philosophies that underpin many quantitative methods.

Key features of qualitative research

• Descriptive and exploratory: Focuses on depth rather than numerical measurement
• Contextual: Seeks to understand experiences within real-world environments
• Flexible: Allows adaptation of methods as understanding deepens
• Participant-centred: Prioritises voices, perspectives and interpretations
• Inductive: Builds understanding and theory from data

Benefits of qualitative research

• Provides in-depth and rich insights into experiences, perceptions, meanings, beliefs and context
• Ideal for complex and nuanced topics
• Helps generate research hypotheses for future quantitative research
• Helps interpret or explain quantitative findings
• Shows processes, relationships and patterns that are difficult to quantify

Limitations of qualitative research

• Limited generalisability due to context-specific findings
• Potential for subjectivity and bias
• Time and resource intensive
• Difficult to standardise interviews or data collection
• Possible social desirability bias in responses
• Interpretive challenges because meaning is co-constructed
• Cannot determine cause and effect, although it may support causal hypotheses

When should you use a qualitative study design?

Use a qualitative design when you want to:

• Explore experiences, perceptions or meanings in depth
• Understand complex behaviours, processes or decision-making
• Study phenomena that are not suitable for numerical measurement
• Investigate new or poorly understood topics
• Complement quantitative research by explaining how or why results occur