Qualitative Research Paradigms: What the Novice Researcher Needs to Know

Novice researchers face challenges when choosing the appropriate research paradigm, and ultimately the research design, data collection methods and techniques of analysis. Hence, writing qualitative research articles or research reports becomes a daunting task. This paper focuses on the epistemological elements that define qualitative research, and the process of qualitative research. Good qualitative research clarifies the aims and objectives of the research and the research question for which appropriate methods are selected. In addition, the aims and objectives of the study provide the basis for the selection of the research design, population, sample size, and data analysis techniques. The research design provides a structure or/guideline for answering the research question. A qualitative research design covers: Concepts to be studied; how these concepts will be measured; the approach(es) to be used to study the problem; who will be studied; how the data will be collected and analysed; and ultimately how the information collected will be presented to answer the research question. The means and methods to achieve the objectives of the study often present novice researchers with a challenge. The process is further complicated because there is no definitive means for choosing the best qualitative research design, as qualitative research designs are ex - Post facto designs that include field studies, case studies, surveys and observations. Thus, this article is well suited for graduate students and other researchers arming themselves for qualitative research. The authors indicate that qualitative research aims to generate in-depth accounts from individuals and groups by talking with them, watching their behaviour, and analysing their artifacts, and taking into account the different contexts in which they are based. Qualitative researchers gather data primarily from interviews, focus groups, observations or documents. Their data analyses are largely inductive, allowing meaning to emerge from the data. Thus qualitative research designs are often emergent and flexible. Hence the article will provide the novice researcher with a starting point in becoming a more informed consumer and producer of qualitative research outputs.