by Bryony Shaw | May, 2023 | Bryony Shaw, research
Often qualitative research is seen as second best to quantitative research. It doesn’t give us numbers that we can analyse and compare. It does not translate well into headlines. It is more complex, more time-consuming to analyse and results may be more ambiguous. However, this is where I see the power of quantitative research to inform and lead in psychology. Step into the shoes of others As a psychologist, I am fascinated about why people do certain behaviours. What was their rationale, their motivating force and what are their beliefs? This is where the field of qualitative research is a super tool, it enables us to discover the answers to these questions. Qualitative research allows us to step into the shoes of the people we are working with, to understand the world from their perspective. By using open questions that allow people to respond in their own unique way we can gain insight into novel and unexpected phenomena. I consider this to be a privilege. Often qualitative research is conducted through in-depth interviews that may last one to two hours or more. This gives the interviewees time to relax and time to go into detail about their own experiences and perceptions. Through people sharing their thoughts and experiences in this way, it can help research expand in unexpected directions as subtleties and nuances are illuminated. Where will these shoes take us? Now we’ve stepped into other people’s shoes, where will these new insights take us? When Covid hit, the world was dealing with so many unknowns and yet certain functions carried on regardless, such as the progression...
by Bryony Shaw | April, 2022 | Bryony Shaw, research
Often qualitative research is seen as second-best to quantitative research. It doesn’t give us numbers that we can analyse and compare. It does not translate well into headlines. It is more complex, more time consuming to analyse and results may be more ambiguous. However, this is where I see the power of quantitative research to inform and lead in psychology. Step into the shoes of others As a psychologist, I am fascinated by why people do certain behaviours. What was their rationale, their motivating force and what are their beliefs? This is where the field of qualitative research is a super tool, it enables us to discover the answers to these questions. Qualitative research allows us to step into the shoes of the people we are working with, to understand the world from their perspective. By using open questions that allow people to respond in their own unique way we can gain insight into novel and unexpected phenomena. I consider this to be a privilege. Often qualitative research is conducted through in-depth interviews that may last one to two hours or more. This gives the interviewees time to relax and time to go into detail about their own experiences and perceptions. Through people sharing their thoughts and experiences in this way, it can help research expand in unexpected directions as subtleties and nuances are illuminated. Where will these shoes take us? Now we’ve stepped into other people’s shoes, where will these new insights take us? When Covid hit, the world was dealing with so many unknowns and yet certain functions carried on regardless, such as the progression...
