Learning Objectives

  1. Identify the circumstances that make qualitative methods most useful.
  2. Describe the features of qualitative research that distinguish it from quantitative research.
  3. Define the methods of ethnography and how they compare to netnography.
  4. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of each participant observer role.
  5. Discuss the major challenges at each stage of a field research project.
  6. Explain how field researchers take and analyze notes.
  7. Describe the process of intensive interviewing and compare it to the process of interviewing in survey research.
  8. Discuss the advantages of focus group research and identify the particular challenges focus group researchers face.
  9. Identify the major ethical challenges faced by qualitative researchers and discuss one qualitative research project that posed particular ethical concerns.