Qualitative Psychological Research - Data Collection

Data Collection

In qualitative research, the researcher is the primary data collection instrument. Qualitative research involves data collected from participant observations, interviews, questionnaires, phone calls, focus groups and etc. Interviewing, focus groups, and participant observation are common modes of qualitative data gathering. Interviews are used in most types of qualitative research. Focus groups are facilitated group discussions that make use of the group interaction as the means to explore the research issue being studied, so the use of group processes distinguishes them from individual interviews. Researchers conducting focus groups should ensure that every participants have equal chance to declare their points of views. Participant observation is a method particularly employed by ethnographers in the anthropological tradition. It is used to learn about the naturally occurring routines, interactions and practices of a particular group of people in their social environments, and so to understand their culture. When a researcher becomes a part of the participants in the situation under observation, it is called a participant observer. Furthermore, qualitative data can be used to strengthen quantitative research designs in general and intervention research designs (i.e., experimental, quasi-experimental) in particular. For example, in educational psychology, researchers could conduct a qualitative pilot study to determine which group of students should be selected for quantitative study by observing or interviewing different groups of students.