The Importance Of Qualitative Research

Quality and trustworthiness are essential to qualitative research both in the process of sampling and data collection. The adequacy and appropriateness of the sampling and data collection method to address the research question are very much needed to satisfy the desire of the consumer of the research. It is the credibility and dependability of the research that persuades consumers to trust the findings. The clear description of the sampling procedures (transparency) and the use of a consistent approach to data collection (systematicity) are the two principles that guide researchers to think about quality in their qualitative research during the planning of their study and reporting or their findings (Tappen, 2011). Qualitative research should

The selection of study sample is a very important step in any research venture since it is impractical, non-efficient, and unethical to study the whole populations. Unlike quantitative sampling, qualitative sampling doesn’t draw a representative sample from the population, but its aim is an in-depth understanding of the issue or the problem in a given group or setting. Though there is no definite rule on sample size in qualitative studies, one has to look into what sample size will reach saturation or redundancy and what sample size is needed to represent the variation within a target population. The expected variation in the data determines the desirable sample size. When the data are more varied, there is a need for large sample size to attain the same level of accuracy. The sample size can be estimated based on data collection method or the approach of the study used. Qualitative researchers must justify their sample size on the quality of their data that would be reflected in the presentation of their studies findings (Cleary & Hayter,

It is at this stage of sampling that ethical skills and sensitivity are required. The potential participants should be informed the aim of the study, what their participation entails, the nature of being volunteers, and the protection of their anonymity to help them give an informed consent to participate in the study. Researchers who obtain data from people are expected to maintain high ethical standards both during their research and data sharing. If researchers pay attention, even confidential research data can be shared safely. The important aspects of ethical data sharing can be achieved by gaining informed consent, by anonymizing data, by controlling data access, and by applying for an appropriate license. Sharing data and disseminating the results of research studies are beneficial to get new findings from existing data, to assimilate sets of data for new analysis, and to re-analyze expensive and rare investigations. Therefore, a digital object identifier needs to be assigned to the data in order to site it in the future. A researcher needs to follow informed consent rules, respect confidentiality and privacy, understand the limits of the internet, know federal and state law, and tap into ethics