Sam Ladner is a sociologist/consultant working in Toronto who writes quite insightful and compelling posts at the intersection of qualitative research design, digital media, and society. One of her recent posts (here) succinctly addresses some of the key (though often overlooked) aspects of qualitative research that distinguish it from quantitative approaches.
She opens up with this:
“But how many people did you talk to?” If you’ve ever done qualitative research, you’ve heard that question at least once. And the first time? You were flummoxed. In 3 short minutes, you can be assured that will never happen again.
Folks, qualitative research does not worry about numbers of people; it worries about deep understanding. Weber called this “verstehen.” (Come to think of it, most German people call it that too. Coincidence?). Geertz called it “thick description.” It’s about knowing — really knowing — the phenomenon you’re researching. You’ve lived, breathed, and slept this thing, this social occurrence, this…this…part of everyday life. You know it inside and out.
The rest of the post is worth reading, as is most of her blog. Of special interest in these social media-frenzy times is this post.