Diving In: The Value of Qualitative Inquiry
The power of qualitative research, enriching solutions to complex problems.
“An important place to begin in philosophy is this: a clear perception of one’s own ruling principle.” – Epictetus, Discourses
ATTN Qualitative Inquisitor:
Welcome back to The Qualitative Inquisition!
In the last edition, I introduced this newsletter and shared some of the reasons for embarking on this new adventure.
Please feel free to view the last edition HERE!
For the moment, I decided to make The Qualitative Inquisition a monthly newsletter until I get a few items off the ground. After a few months, I hope to gradually increase the frequency.
In this second edition, I’d like to begin to explore some of the general benefits and value-added from qualitative approaches in social science.
Here, I explore just a scratch of the reasons why, as social scientists, researchers, and practitioners, we employ qualitative methods. We use these methods to understand the nuances of complex phenomena and find solutions to crucial problems. I offer an overview of how qualitative approaches can enrich the research but also our research experiences, addressing the research question, as we develop our voice as scholars.
As noted in the previous edition, I hope to share some observations I’ve collected from my fields of specialization within the social sciences, namely international development, fragile and conflict-affected states, and social capital/social network analysis.
Scholars who are passionate about qualitative methods love the creative space it offers. I took the opportunity throughout my graduate studies to employ a blend of qualitative and quantitative research methods to my questions on international development policy. The methods helped me think more critically in addressing the highly saturated and thoroughly investigated foreign aid-effectiveness conundrum through an alternative framework and emerging lens.
This edition is just a scratch, the beginning of understanding the invaluable potential behind qualitative inquiry, which I hope to explore with you through this newsletter. It won’t be comprehensive, and we will continue to break it down and reveal more benefits in future editions.
For now, let’s dive into the captivating realm of The Qualitative Inquisition!
Embracing Qualitative Methods in Action
Scholarly research and practice is always evolving. Research based on qualitative methods to unpack solutions to complex social, political, economic, and cultural problems, allows for rich narratives, nuanced observations, in-depth engagement, and immersion in a league of its own.
We can navigate human experiences, social dynamics, and cultural phenomena through a myriad of methods. From ethnographic immersion to archival document analysis, qualitative inquiry offers a multifaceted lens through which to interpret and make sense of our increasingly challenging and fragile world.
In this edition, we will explore the following benefits, values, and reasons for the application of qualitative methods:
In-depth analyses of Human and Social Dynamics
Understanding Subjectivity and Diversity
Flexibility and Adaptability of Research
Empowerment of Researchers alongside Research Informants
Elevating Underrepresented Perspectives
Complementing Quantitative Research Methods
In-depth Critical Analyses of Human and Social Dynamics
Qualitative methodology in social science allows for an in-depth exploration of complex issues, providing a rich contextual understanding that quantitative approaches often do not capture. Some research topics that have not been extensively studied, can be examined in new and creative ways. Qualitative research offers researchers a nuanced understanding of social phenomena that transcends mere surface-level observations, especially when examining human and social experiences. We uncover rich contextual insights and meanings that quantitative approaches overlook.
Through techniques such as fieldwork, cultural immersion, in-depth interviews, ethnography, participant observation, open-ended surveys, archival or content analysis, qualitative coding, and thematic analysis, we can examine the underlying meanings and motivations driving human behaviors, and paint an illustrious portrait of society and social phenomena.
Understanding Subjectivity and Diversity
Part and parcel to the reflexive nature of qualitative inquiry, researchers can embrace the subjectivity behind human experiences that share unique and valuable stories, which can ultimately resonate with others. Qualitative inquiry allows us to acknowledge and give significance to the subjective nature of human experiences. We then acknowledge the diverse perspectives that shape our understanding of reality. Rather than seeking universal truths, we recognize the importance of exploring multiple viewpoints, embracing the complexity of the problems we seek to solve. Subjectivity allows us to capture the diversity of individuals and organizations, celebrating the richness and complexity of lived experiences.
We learn to see how reality is constructed through a variety of important perspectives. We can explore diverse purviews and reveal the underlying motivations and significance behind events, and people's actions, words, and experiences. It also helps reveal our own beliefs, and biases as well, which can be an intellectually and spiritually enlightening experience. We can embrace these biases in qualitative inquiry.
Flexibility and Adaptability of Qualitative Inquiry
As our research questions evolve among rapidly changing contexts, qualitative methods offer flexibility and adaptability. Unlike rigid experiments, qualitative methods allow for the adjustment of research designs in response to new insights and emerging themes, fostering iterative approaches to exploratory research.
We are passionate about qualitative methods because of the freedom and room to be creative, and to break the rules (of course with all consideration to research ethics).
From participatory research designs that prioritize community engagement to mixed-methods approaches that integrate quantitative and qualitative data, we engage in a diverse array of methodologies tailored to the unique challenges and contexts of our research. Additionally, we provide a sense of agency and ownership to our research informants, through collaborative inquiry and co-creation of knowledge, promoting active engagement with participants.
Empowerment
In the process of qualitative inquiry, we empower individuals and communities to share their voices, helping to shape the research process as well as their defining narratives to be disseminated throughout the world. Empowerment is a magnetic and highly contagious concept. As we empower our research informants, many whom are agents of change, the researcher also develops a sense of empowerment.
When I conducted my fieldwork in Pakistan, I was welcomed with open arms across the country for my Ph.D. and my Master’s research (which was solely based in Karachi). In Northern Sindh, I witnessed the Sindh Rural Support Organization’s (SRSO) development efforts in person, attending and participating in village community meetings. I listened to the voices of female community leaders speaking in rural Sindh with a jaw-dropping, mind-blowing level of confidence. Their passion for change and empowerment transferred to me, as I listened to what they were doing to transform their lives in “self-help initiatives” resulting with such empowerment. Arguably a latent construct, what they did for me, as that 'perfect stranger', that "fly-on-the-wall observer," could also be a measure of their empowerment.
That experience confirmed what many in Pakistan’s Rural Support Program Network (RSPN) would share with me, which sparked my interest to go further into the field sites in rural communities, beyond just sitting in the offices in the major cities: the importance of “Seeing is Believing.” One observation across various interviews during my fieldwork was that communities would only believe and trust organizations when they witnessed something happen as a result of that intervention (i.e. a road being built, an empowered female leader, a well, etc.). When researchers experience the results of the development efforts firsthand, as part of their participant observation, it adds another layer of reliability, validity, and credibility to the work.
I hope to provide more insights about this experience in the future, but generally speaking, seeing the level of empowerment of women leaders in rural communities, continues to have a profound impact on me. I hope to share this story in more detail in future editions of the Qualitative Inquisition.
Elevating Underrepresented Perspectives
Qualitative research has the potential to put a spotlight on the real experiences of marginalized and underrepresented groups, amplifying their voices, and shedding light on their challenges, goals, and aspirations. Many studies approach questions that highlight experiences of oppression and social injustice, and the hidden stories of disenfranchised and vulnerable populations. By intentionally centering these perspectives, qualitative methods can contribute to more diverse, inclusive and equitable research practices.
Complementing Quantitative Research
Certain research inquiries (particularly those that investigate underrepresented or vulnerable populations where data is absent or scarce) are difficult to quantify. In many fields, where quantitative research methods have greater value, qualitative methods can substitute or complement quantitative approaches by providing deeper insights into the "how," "why," or “so what” behind trends and patterns in quant-based studies. Integrating qualitative and quantitative methods in mixed-methods research enhances the rigor and comprehensiveness of studies, offering a more holistic understanding of complex social phenomena. Qualitative inquiry allows us to extend our knowledge of the human experience, and explore the dimensions and layers of our existence in different ways. I found some avenues of “quantifying the qualitative” as the adage goes, within my research, and the creativity and flexibility was welcomed.
Lessons from International Development
From the example I shared earlier of empowerment during the fieldwork experience in Pakistan, I can say that my experience as an international development professional, beyond my scholarship, has been deeply enriched by learning these methods. I noticed that some of the challenges and opportunities I encountered conducting my fieldwork mirrored that of development practitioners themselves.
As qualitative methodologists in the fields of international development, qualitative research supports the noble pursuit of ground truthing, understanding, and empathy, alongside developing social capital, fostering genuine connections with communities and stakeholders, and identifying and elevating the voices of the vulnerable, poor, and marginalized within local communities in developing countries.
Additionally, when we prioritize the voices often marginalized in mainstream discourse, qualitative researchers can uncover the underlying drivers of inequality, poverty, and social exclusion, often missed in quantitative analyses. I’ll talk more in-depth about this in a future newsletter.
More advanced approaches in qualitative methods can help cultural anthropologists to move away from such biases as the widely documented “romanticization of the local,” and explore methods that can support the efforts toward localization. Qualitative methods have contributed to advancing localization efforts across the aid industry. From individual participatory assessments to community-based participatory research, these approaches, when fully harnessed, can empower communities to shape their narratives, tell their own stories, and advocate for social change on their terms.
Navigating Conflict: Further Insights from the Field
With such high stakes in settings that are fraught with complexity, uncertainty, and fragility, qualitative methods offer invaluable insights into the social and human dimensions of conflict and resilience. Through cultural immersion, and immersing themselves in the lived realities of conflict-affected populations, we as qualitative Inquisitors gain a first-hand deeper understanding of the root causes of conflict, the dynamics of power, social inequality and exclusion, and the path to truce, peace, and reconciliation. Through such projects as participatory action research, oral history, and ethnographic studies, qualitative inquiry can elevate voices often silenced by violence and oppression, fostering empathy, understanding, and solidarity.
Qualitative analysis and studies have informed improvements in fragile and conflict-affected contexts in various policies and program designs, which I hope to discuss in more detail in future editions.
Conclusion: A Toolkit for Storytelling
Overall, conducting qualitative research is a fascinating and rewarding experience. Qualitative methods offer a unique toolkit for storytelling, exploring the depths of social phenomena, fostering diversity and a sense of empathy, understanding, and social change, alongside the necessary internal change.
In the pursuit and yearning to comprehend diverse dimensions of the human and social experience, qualitative inquiry remains a potent methodological approach to social sciences. When analyzing qualitative data, researchers can unearth latent patterns and emergent themes, unveiling the nuanced interplay of factors shaping individual behaviors and societal structures.
Qualitative inquiry catalyzes critical inquiry, reflective exploration, and iterative processes, in rapidly changing social, political, and economic dynamics and contexts. It offers an invigorating challenge for us to grapple with the multifaceted research inquiries. This reflexive engagement enables scholars to illuminate human, social, organizational, and institutional behavior, yielding insights that holistically inform evidence-based interventions and policies.
Join the Conversation with The Qualitative Inquisition
I invite you to join this conversation!
There is a lot to unpack about the values and benefits of qualitative inquiry! Share your perspectives, experiences, and reflections on the philosophical and transformative power of qualitative methods!
In the process, let's continue to support a path toward deeper understanding, empathy, and social change across our domains of research.
Thank you for being part of The Qualitative Inquisition, and exploring the significance and value of qualitative methods in enriching our research inquiries!
Stay tuned for our next edition, in National Poetry Month, where we'll dive even further into the intersections of qualitative research and the power of storytelling!
In Solidarity,
Your fellow qualitative Inquisitor,
Dr. Elsa
Top News Roundup
Observing International Women’s Day 2024 around the World
Genocide in Gaza Continues through the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan
Recognizing Pakistan Establishment Government - MEI Analysis
A Glimpse Into the Lives of Afghan Women
Sudan’s Peace Talks to Resume in Saudi Arabia mid-April
The U.S. Election – Trump versus Biden Rematch Confirmed
TRIVIA
Previous Edition’s trivia:
The first email was sent in the year this country achieved Independence.
What year was it, and which country achieved independence that year?
Answer: Year: 1971. Country: Bangladesh
Today’s Trivia Question:
In what year did the Berlin Wall fall, symbolizing the end of the Cold War? During the same year, what protests were simultaneously happening in which country, demanding political reform and democratic freedoms?
Academic Book Recommendation
Qualitative Research Design: An Interactive Approach by Joseph A. Maxwell
A classic Qualitative methods book that helps researchers design, plan, and execute flexible, adaptive, inductive research projects through a step-by-step, “do-it-yourself” iterative process. This was a very helpful resource for my doctoral research!
Professional Book Recommendation
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport
Universally, our ability to focus has become more difficult than ever. This is a very insightful read that explores the concept of focused, distraction-free work as the primary way to produce high-quality results, especially in an increasingly distracted world.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH:
“Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” – Dr. Maya Angelou
Happy National Women’s History Month (America)!
See you in the next edition!
Learn more about The Qualitative Inquisition Here!