1. GROUP FIVE
PRESENTATION

2. TOPIC
A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE
MERITS AND DEMERITS OF
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
METHODS

3. CONTENTS
 INTRODUCTION
 BACKGROUND INFORMATION
 MERITS OF QUALITATIVE METHODS
 DEMERITS OF QUALITATIVE METHODS
 CONCLUDING REMARKS

4. INTRODUCTION
 Research; Comprises "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis
in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of
man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to
devise new applications" (OECD, 2002).
 Social Science Research; refers to research conducted by social
scientists, which follows by the systematic plan. Social research
methods can generally vary along a quantitative/qualitative dimension
(Shackman, 2009).
 Qualitative Methods; aimed at gaining a deep understanding of a
specific organization or event, rather than a surface description of a
large sample of a population. It aims to provide an explicit
interpretation of the structure, order, and broad patterns found among a
group of participants. It is also called ethnomethodology or field
research. It generates data about human groups in social settings
(Rahmatttr, 2014).

5. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Early forms of research originated in the natural
sciences and they were based on quantification of
human behaviour in some way in order to gain
understanding.
Later on, social researchers realized that not every
social aspect could be studied by the means of the
simpler quantitative methods, instead they
introduced qualitative methods which focus on
inquiring beyond “how, how often and how many
and address questions like ‘why?’ (AQR, 2013).

6. BACKGROUND INFO…..CONT.
The basis of different research methods is primarily
underpinned to particular philosophy. As such, both
qualitative and quantitative research methods lie in
the foundation of different philosophical ideas about
the nature of social reality (Ontology) and what is
considered to be the acceptable knowledge about
social reality (Epistemology).
 Qualitative research methods are informed by
philosophical ideas such as ‘Interpretivism’ and
‘Constructivism’ which are bound to the philosophy
that social reality is ‘Subjective’ in nature.

7. QUALITATIVE METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
 Qualitative methods include several data
collection methods such as:
Observational methods
 In-depth interviewing
Group discussions
Narratives
Analysis of documentary evidence

8. MERITS OF QUALITATIVE METHODS
I. It allows Probing
II. It provides a holistic view of the phenomenon
under consideration
III. It describes characteristics of a population
IV.It allows Interaction with Participants

9. MERITS CONT……
V. It enables understanding of social phenomena in
natural (rather than experimental) settings
VI.It allows for sufficient levels of Flexibility
VII.It is suitable for situational representativeness
VIII.It enables theory Development

10. DEMERITS OF QUALITATIVE METHODS
I. Limited generalizability
II. The problem of Replication
III. Poor Transparency

11. DEMERITS CONT………
V. Bias of both the recipient (researcher) and
supplier of information obtained
V. It may result to weak analysis because data
analysis depends strongly on the analytical skills
of the researcher
VI.Particularly difficult to analyse when dealing with
rich and complex data

12. CONCLUSION
QUALITATIVE
METHODS
QUANTITATIVE
METHODS