Qualitative research refers to a class of methods used in research, whereby, the investigator takes a dynamic role in participant interaction. Various studies indicate that qualitative research works to produce a verbal summary of the findings of research with little to no statistical analysis and summaries. Contrariwise, quantitative methods rely heavily on rating scales, tests, psychological measures and questionnaires to collect and interpret data. Therefore, on the one hand, research using quantitative methods produces results that are number oriented, while findings in qualitative research produce narrative descriptions and flow diagrams. In qualitative research also, the analysis of behavior involves discussions on how people feel and experience their lives. This makes qualitative methods an exemplary means of engendering theories and hypotheses of the phenomena that happen in organizational settings, particularly, in administration as a process and activity that sufficiently runs a business. As such, this paper looks at the use of qualitative research in decision making within the administrative spheres of business. It focuses on and describes qualitative methods, evaluating their efficiency including organizational examples and opinions as to the future of qualitative research in administration and in general.
Qualitative research presents various data collection and analysis methods. Through qualitative studies, researchers are able to access the feelings and thoughts of research participants, which facilitates the development of an understanding of the intrinsic meaning people ascribe to in their various occurrences of life. This makes qualitative research innately essential in comprehending participant involvement and in understanding apposite phenomena: a chief factor in administration, which majorly deals with people interactions. Within the context of administration, qualitative approaches to research are relevant in that they examine an array of topics including the various perceptions of stakeholders and the experiences of relevant administrators such as secretaries, human resource management, and development assistants among others. Briefly, three commonly used methodologies are imperative in business related qualitative research. These are ethnography, phenomenology, and grounded theory. While ethnography has its fundamental basis in social science through the specialism of anthropology, it examines and studies group behavior. In its fundamental sense, ethnography is an interpretation and description of the social group or cultural systems, thus making an ethnographic researcher an individual who analyzes group customs, behaviors, and way of life (Lawrence & Tar, 2013). In addition, researchers using ethnographic methodologies also study the meanings of behavior and language extrapolating the interactions of groups that share innate cultures. Therefore, the relevance of ethnographers in business research is of utmost significance since they use direct observations to study participants.
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One qualitative method that is highly relevant to administration is the use of grounded theories. In grounded theory and its major modifications over time, researchers use various interactions such as focus groups and face-to-face interviews to question and explore a specific research phenomenon that aids in the clarification of less well-understood complications, contexts, and situation. In qualitative interpretive research, relevant among business administrative settings, the main problem that occurs and is persistent is the decision to come up with an appropriate starting point. Also, as its fundamental nature, qualitative research produces immense amounts of data that is inherently not susceptible to analysis, mechanical manipulation and data reduction. This nonstandard format in the nature of qualitative research requires appropriate tools such as the use of grounded theory to analyze the data breaking it down into synthesized patterns and parts that form a relationship, which brings meaning and understanding to the whole research premise. Thus, as a qualitative tool, grounded theory aids in comprehending administrative business through interpreting complex social processes (Boadu & Sorour, 2015). A good example of the grounded theory in organizations is the concern that corporate governance places on the relationship between the society’s perception of the degree of corporate culpability and internal mechanisms of corporate administration. Such a problem is qualitative in nature and tools such as grounded theory, ethnography and phenomenology can be applied.
Presently, a rapid paradigm shift is taking place in marketing, business, political and the social sciences in general, which places fresh demands on research. Contemporarily, the application of qualitative research uses both international and local markets. As such, it has become progressively prominent in the making of social policies within business organizations. Various studies have concluded that the use of qualitative research is essential in the creation of policies that not only offer increased substance to pertinent business practices but also provide a more in-depth conception of the complexities involved in business administration (Smit, 2003). Thus, to maintain the relevance and legitimacy of qualitative research in business, it is imperative to emphasize further the linkage between methodology and epistemology and come to terms with the fact that divergent assumptions constituting of germane knowledge might demean pertinent methodologies. Simply put, this means that the future needs to consider that each research evaluation needs to reflect underlying philosophical assumptions involved and those that influence the judging, publishing, and undertaking of pertinent research.
Ultimately, qualitative research is highly pertinent to business operations, especially, in administrative capacities. While present practices offer dissimilar variables, there is an innate need of raising the standards of professional qualitative research in business to more internationally recognized standards and principles within fundamental quantitative research freedoms. As such, there is a need for increasing and including specific proposals that work to clarify the domain of qualitative research exhaustively. Through using applicable proposals in administrative qualitative research, both applied and theoretical standings are raised, and this improves the basic professionalism of qualitative research in general
References
Boadu, M., & Sorour, M. (2015). On Utilizing Grounded Theory in Business Doctoral Research: Guidance on the Research Design, Procedures, and Challenges. International Journal Of Doctoral Studies , 10 , 143-166.
Lawrence, J., & Tar, U. (2013). The use of Grounded Theory Technique as a Practical Tool for Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis. The Electronic Journal Of Business Research Methods , 11 (1), 29-40.
Smit, B. (2003). Can Qualitative Research Inform Policy Implementation? Evidence and Arguments from a Developing Country Context. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research , 4 (3), 1-6
