A qualitative researcher is someone who conducts research using qualitative research methods, usually in social science fields like psychology, education, anthropology, or sociology. The qualitative researcher is a highly trained academic professional who focuses on research methodologies in order to better understand the complexities of human behavior, both as individuals and as members of a group or institution. A qualitative researcher uses smaller sample sizes to provide a comprehensive picture through detailed and rich data, whereas a quantitative researcher uses large samples of subjects to extrapolate results that are put in the format of numbers and statistics.
In the field of education, a qualitative researcher might look into how students and teachers interact, as well as how the learning environment in a school has been affected by the implementation of a particular behavior modification program. The researcher would need a gatekeeper, such as the principal, to get permission to conduct the study and gain access to people at the school in order to gather information. The researcher might then spend several weeks collecting data over the course of two or three school years. He or she may conduct interviews with students and teachers, have them fill out surveys, and observe to gather information about the behavior modification program. Key informants are people with whom the researcher will want to speak extensively, such as people who may have inside knowledge of how the new plan is affecting faculty and student relations.
A qualitative researcher will decide on the study’s goals and data collection methodologies, such as observation, surveys, interviews, or case studies, before starting the research. The qualitative researcher will keep extensive notes and documentation both during and after the study to ensure that rich, thick data is available for analysis. Data coding is important for analysis because it can help to reduce some of the large amounts of data that will inevitably be recorded. In qualitative research, the researcher is concerned about the reliability of the data and may use triangulation techniques such as peer debriefing and interviewer corroboration to ensure that it is correct. Unlike quantitative research, which is intended to be generalized to situations or groups larger than the study sample, qualitative research is intended to provide people with insight into what happened with a small sample of study subjects so they can study the researcher’s conclusions, draw their own conclusions, and determine how relevant the research study is to them.