What is a major advantage of using personal interviews to gather qualitative data?
Research is about gathering data so that it can inform meaningful decisions. In the workplace, this can be invaluable in allowing informed decision-making that will meet with wider strategic organizational goals. Show
However, research comes in a variety of guises and, depending on the methodologies applied, can achieve different ends. There are broadly two key approaches to research -- qualitative and quantitative. Business acumen in internal communications – Why it matters and how to build itQualitative v Quantitative – what’s the difference?Qualitative Research is at the touchy-feely end of the spectrum. It’s not so much about bean-counting and much more about capturing people’s opinions and emotions. “Research following a qualitative approach is exploratory and seeks to explain ‘how’ and ‘why’ a particular phenomenon, or behavior, operates as it does in a particular context.” (simplypsychology.org) Examples of the way qualitative research is often gathered includes: InterviewsInterviews are a conversation based inquiry where questions are used to obtain information from participants. Interviews are typically structured to meet the researcher’s objectives. Focus GroupsFocus group discussions are a common qualitative research strategy. In a focus group discussion, the interviewer talks to a group of people about their thoughts, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a topic. Participants are typically a group who are similar in some way, such as income, education, or career. In the context of a company, the group dynamic is likely their common experience of the workplace. ObservationObservation is a systematic research method in which researchers look at the activity of their subjects in their typical environment. Observation gives direct information about your research. Using observation can capture information that participants may not think to reveal or see as important during interviews/focus groups. Existing DocumentsThis is also called secondary data. A qualitative data collection method entails extracting relevant data from existing documents. This data can then be analyzed using a qualitative data analysis method called content analysis. Existing documents might be work documents, email, or any other material relevant to the organization. Quantitative Research is the ‘bean-counting’ bit of the research spectrum. This isn’t to demean its value. Now encompassed by the term ‘People Analytics’, it plays an equally important role as a tool for business decision-making. Organizations can use a variety of quantitative data-gathering methods to track productivity. In turn, this can help:
Examples might include measuring workforce productivity. If Widget Makers Inc., has two production lines and Line A is producing 25% more per day than Line B, capturing this data immediately informs management/HR of potential issues. Is the slower production on Line B due to human factors or is there a production process issue? Quantitative Research can help capture real-time activities in the workplace and point towards what needs management attention. The Pros & Cons of the Qualitative approachBy its nature, qualitative research is far more experiential and focused on capturing people’s feelings and views. This undoubtedly has value, but it can also bring many more challenges than simply capturing quantitative data. Here are a few challenges and benefits to consider. The Pros
Qualitative research can be more targeted. If you want to compare productivity across an entire organization, all parts, process, and participants need to be accounted for. Qualitative research can be far more concentrated, sampling specific groups and key points in a company to gather meaningful data. This can both speed the process of data capture and keep the costs of data-gathering down. The Cons
The reality is that any research approach has both pros and cons. The art of effective and meaningful data gathering is thus to be aware of the limitations and strengths of each method. In the case of Qualitative research, its value is inextricably linked to the number-crunching that is Quantitative data. One is the Ying to the other’s Yang. Each can only provide half of the picture, but together, you get a more complete view of what’s occurring within an organization. What are the advantages of using interviews in qualitative research?Interviews are most effective for qualitative research:
They help you explain, better understand, and explore research subjects' opinions, behavior, experiences, phenomenon, etc. Interview questions are usually open-ended questions so that in-depth information will be collected.
What are the advantages of personal interview in data collection?Advantages of using a personal interview survey
Provides good response rate. Provides a greater opportunity to observe the behaviour and attitude of the respondent. Allows a respondent to adapt to questions if they do not understand something. Ensures in-depth answers to questions.
What is a major advantage of interviews?It provides flexibility to the interviewers. The interview has a better response rate than mailed questions, and the people who cannot read and write can also answer the questions. The interviewer can judge the non-verbal behavior of the respondent.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of personal interviews?Collection of Data. |