Qualitative Research

Qualitative research explores the "quality" of a thing, the how and the why of things. It draws meaning out of text as opposed to numbers. Wikipedia, the free, on-line, encyclopedia has quite a long article on qualitative research. If you're interested in it, read the whole article and follow its references and links. Wikipedia say:

Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern human behavior. Qualitative research relies on reasons behind various aspects of behavior. Simply put, it investigates the why and how of decision making, not just what, where, and when. Hence, the need is for smaller but focused samples rather than large random samples, which qualitative research categorizes data into patterns as the primary basis for organizing and reporting results. Qualitative researchers typically rely on four methods for gathering information: (1) participation in the setting, (2) direct observation, (3) in depth interviews, and (4) analysis of documents and materials.

Qualitative research provides another rich set of analytical tools. The entrepreneur can use them to analyze his business model, customer satisfaction, and his relationhships with his suppliers and his employees. All facets of his entreprise, really.

What do you think? Are you interested in this? I'll talk more on the relationship between qualitative and quantitative research in my next post. Post a comment.

Entrepreneurship informs all my professional activities. For entrepreneurial real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.com/blog and for entrepreneurial writing go to www.kearneymusicschoomurders.blogspot.com.