To become a qualitative researcher, you must first be certain that this is a type of research that you would enjoy doing full-time, as it is a time-consuming and meticulous process. Unlike a quantitative researcher, who uses numbers and statistics to conduct objective research, a qualitative researcher uses a variety of methods to conduct subjective research based on detailed observations of people in various settings. Because qualitative research is most commonly used by academics in social science fields, a master’s degree in one of these fields is required to work as a qualitative researcher.
A person who decides to pursue a career as a qualitative researcher usually does so after deciding on an academic field of interest. While qualitative research is common in the social sciences, it is also common in the humanities, because methods such as case studies, interviews, discourse analysis, and observations can provide insights into genuine human interaction. Qualitative research is common in fields like psychology, sociology, education, and anthropology, because human interaction is at the heart of all of them. Earning a terminal degree — usually a doctorate — in the subject area of interest is recommended to fully understand the academic area and gain a deep understanding of research methods. True qualitative research studies are time-consuming and labor-intensive, so only those with a strong and unwavering interest in a particular field of social science are likely to complete them.
Quantitative research usually results in a clear conclusion and analysis based on the data and statistics gathered. For some fields, such as mathematics and chemistry, this is appropriate. Qualitative researchers, on the other hand, are interested in gathering rich narrative data from which they can make recommendations but no hard and fast conclusions, especially not ones that can be applied to larger segments of the population than those studied. Qualitative researchers want people who read and study their work to be able to draw their own conclusions about the data.
To become a qualitative researcher, one must design and conduct research studies based on genuine questions after choosing an academic field of intense interest and earning a terminal degree. A qualitative education research study might look into how students and teachers interact on a daily basis in an inner-city school with a high dropout rate to see what clues can be gleaned about why students drop out. A qualitative research study in psychology might entail creating a detailed case study of one person with multiple personality disorder and her reactions to therapy to try to merge the personalities into one. As a university professor or an employee of an organization with an interest in the subject, you can conduct research. Obtaining funding and sponsorship for qualitative research can be difficult, but it is an important component for anyone interested in becoming a qualitative researcher.