Applied Media Research - Qualitative Research

In this weeks Applied Media Research we looked at Qualitative research which Wikipedia defines as:

"Qualitative research is a method of inquiry employed in many different academic disciplines, traditionally in the social sciences, but also in market research and further contexts. Qualitative researchers aim to gather an in-depth understanding of human behavior and the reasons that govern such behavior. The qualitative method investigates the why and how of decision making, not just what, where, when. Hence, smaller but focused samples are more often needed than large samples."

This type of research will be useful for the project we have to complete as we will probably be questioning each other within our course rather than branching out to different social groups.

At first I thought that this particular subject was a little basic as I'd already learned the difference between different researches when I was in High School however when we were set a task it was more difficult than I had anticipated. We were asked to create a qualitative questionnaire that would give the university an idea as to how to promote a university course. We as a team found it very difficult to come up with questions that would give valuable answers, and I also found it a struggle to explain to my team mates what we were being asked to do, therefore I think our questionnaire was slightly off in some parts. However I did value the fact that we were let loose and allowed to create something ourselves, which can be a little too seldom.

Phoebe