Qualitative Research: An Introduction to Methods and Designs

Making Methodological Decisions

Deciding which qualitative research tools to choose requires consideration of the research paradigms or approaches that guide or frame a study. It is also important to determine whether a study requires experiential understanding of the setting or community context within which the people who are the focus of the study live, or whether it requires researchers to learn from respondents their point of view on a topic. Even if direct experience in the study site is not part of the study design, understanding something about the cultural setting is critical in considering which tools of inquiry are likely to be most appropriate and when. For example, it is important to know enough about a setting to determine what ...