Qualitative Research
Introduction
Qualitative Research is based on explanations. It is used to find opinions, reasons, and issues that lead to certain behavior in the field of study. This type of Research is useful across many branches of social sciences, including sales and marketing in business. It is used to lay down strategic hypotheses before conducting quantitative Research. Qualitative Research uses different methods of data collection. Some methods are structured, while others are semi-structured. The procedures vary according to the type of expected results. Some common techniques include a focus on group discussions, personal interviews, and participation or observations. It also uses various models in data analysis to analyze the themes and contents of the study. The methods focus on the themes, conversation analysis, and photographic analysis by the use of technology. Qualitative Research also employs sampling techniques to get the right sample size that will provide sufficient data to find accurate results for the study. Using an example of Research on the quality of service offered by a retailing business, focusing on the behavior of sales assistants, this article will deal with the characteristics of qualitative Research and the ethical issues that can be raised by this type of Research (Silverman, 2016).
Characteristics
Qualitative Research is characterized by thematic features that researchers should be aware of when conducting Research. The first feature of qualitative research is that it involves seeing through the eyes of the respondents being studied. Other features include describing and laying emphasis on the context of the study. This type of Research is also flexible and limited in its structure. Some concepts have been developed to deal with the research data and to show how the researcher should relate with the respondents.
Research should have a naturalistic approach where the researcher does not attempt to control the conditions of the respondent during the inquiry. For example, when researching the quality of services offered by the sales assistants of a retail company, the researcher should not focus on one line of products but rather on overall sales of that retail company. The products may be targeting customers of different social statuses according to age, gender, or income. Having a holistic approach takes the whole to be better than studying only some parts. There is close personal conduct and insight when collecting data from respondents in qualitative Research. Therefore, the researcher should be concerned with ethics and code of conduct when conducting Research. The Research is also characterized by dynamic systems, and therefore it has no concern with getting the right or wrong answers. The researcher carries out the study expecting all kinds of answers that come from the people being asked questions about the subject in the study. The researcher has to be sensitive about the context by realizing the variables that are present in the field of study. Some are dependent variables, while others are independent variables. For example, when studying the quality of services offered by the sales assistants of a particular retail company, it is important to note that the quality of service affects the sales of the retail company. The hypotheses in the study can, therefore, be depicted in that when the quality of services is good, the sales will increase.
On the other hand, when the quality of services is poor, they lead to a decrease in sales. The researcher should, therefore, seek to understand the type of services that increase sales, and these will be considered as quality services. That can only be achieved by conducting qualitative research in the relevant field of sales and marketing. Social scientists try to explain social reality about quantitative Research. It is clear that social reality has certain relevance and affects the structure of the way people live, act, and think within the environment. By common sense, there has been a selection of experiences that people face in reality, and the behavior that results from those experiences hence leads to the use of certain products or is motivated in a certain way. The researchers should be able to see through the eye of the person and know the reason for that behavior. This will assist in studies like how a sales task force can be influenced to perform. A theory of emotional labor studies will be relevant to illustrate on sales and marketing because the job is emotional work.
Ethical issues
Quantitative Research comes with a moral responsibility around the participants of Research. Ethical issues in this type of Research reflect on the magnitude of approaches that can lead to actual results influenced by a certain code of conduct when interacting with the respondent. This shows how responsiveness can be achieved to the maximum due to the sense of moral responsibility in the study. Qualitative Research is a vulnerable field to ethical issues because it involves the interaction of the researcher with people. In research such as finding out the quality of services offered by sales assistants and attendants in a retail company, ethics revolve around the emotions displayed by the sales assistants when selling the products to the customers. While conducting quality research on the sales attendants, the researcher has to provide all the relevant information to the sales team of that retail company, and through the management and stakeholders of the company, the response will hence be free due to openness. The researcher should not show the course to harm or rather do any harm to the subjects under study. Confidentiality should be observed while conducting Research because the nature of the response is usually open-ended, and the subject can choose anonymity. The Research should, therefore, focus on the best interest of the respondent. Qualitative Research should also be aware of the existence of vulnerable groups of people in society. There are different opinions about their participation in the Research, and some can be associated with their inability to present a detailed consent because they may fear for protection. In most researches, they give their responses according to the level of impending risk, the seriousness of the Research, and the availability of alternatives. The researcher is bound to have the relevant skills in order to conduct research. He should be conversant with the field that he or she is researching on and should be equipped with the relevant knowledge needed to make informed consent of the research data. Ethical issues are emerging issues in qualitative Research and the business field from the literature review of the quality of services offered in sales by retail companies. The researcher should be aware of these issues and hence lay down an effective framework to deal with this upcoming issue when doing Research.
References
Silverman, D. (Ed.). (2016). Qualitative Research. Sage.
Tharenou, P., Donohue, R., & Cooper, B. (2007). Management research methods. Cambridge University Press.