Qualitative methods

Qualitative methods are ways of studying things that can't easily be measured or counted. This is different from quantitative methods, which focus on things that can be measured easily with numbers, like how many apples are in a basket.

A good way to think about qualitative methods is to imagine you are talking to a friend about their day. You might ask them how they felt, what they did, and who they talked to. These things are hard to put into numbers or statistics, but they give you a deeper understanding of what your friend experienced.

In the same way, qualitative methods help us understand things that are more nuanced and complex. Researchers might use these methods to study things like people's experiences of discrimination, the way a community responds to a natural disaster, or how families cope with a loved one's death.

Qualitative methods are often based on things like observations, interviews, and open-ended questions. Researchers might spend time observing a group of people, taking notes on what they see and hear. They might also conduct interviews with individuals or groups, asking them to share their thoughts and feelings on a particular topic.

One important thing to remember about qualitative methods is that they are subjective. This means that different researchers might interpret the same data in different ways. It's important for researchers to be transparent about their methods and to explain how they arrived at their conclusions.

Overall, qualitative methods help us gain a deeper understanding of the world around us by focusing on things that can't necessarily be measured with numbers.