Qualitative research method

According to McMillan (2008:272) and Sullivan (2001:20-98), qualitative research is described as a tradition of research techniques, as well as a philosophy of knowing. The term qualitative refers to a number of approaches that share some common characteristics. Qualitative research involves data in the form of words, pictures, descriptions, or narratives. Berg (2001:3) pronounces that a qualitative study refers to the meanings, concepts, definitions, characteristics, symbols and in the broadest sense to research that produces descriptive data; people‟s own written or spoken words and observable behaviour.

Qualitative research consists of a set of interpretive materials and practices that make the world visible. Qualitative involves studied use and collection of variety of empirical materials, life story, interview, artifacts, observational, historic, interactional, visual texts that describe routine problematic moments and meanings of individual lives (Mertens, 2010:22).Leedy and Ormrod (2005:96) state that in a qualitative study, the researcher formulates a theory by inductive reasoning; for example, observing situations and attempting to support those theory by drawing and then testing the conclusion that follows logically from it. The researcher sets aside his/her own beliefs, perspectives and predispositions and

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the data collection techniques include open- ended questions which give an idea of the social settings.

In qualitative research as a general rule, information is considered qualitative in nature if it cannot be analysed by means of mathematical techniques (De Vos, 1998:15). It can be used to examine the feelings and motivations of users.

In using the qualitative method in this study, where the needs and difficulties confronting these learners are identified, an extensive literature study on the documented materials was used as the frame of reference and the primary source of data. This data was supplemented with data collected by the researcher from his informal discussions with some of the learners with either physical or mental difficulties. During discussion with the learners the researcher made tape recordings of the discussions and made notes of the sections that contained particularly useful information for future analysis and interpretation. But before the discussion with learners parents were requested to allow the researcher to conduct the study. Parents guaranteed that information obtained will not be used for any other purpose other than the study. Detailed characteristics of the qualitative approach follow below.

3.2.2.1 Characteristics of qualitative research

In contrast to the quantitative method, qualitative research uses qualifying words, or descriptions to record aspects of the world. According to Sullivan (2001:2) qualitative research involves data in the form of words, pictures, descriptions or narratives, as well as studying documents, diaries, journals, other written materials and non-written qualitative data, such as audiovisual materials or artefacts. Leedy and Ormrod (2005;95-96) further emphasise that qualitative research tend to rely more heavily on deductive reasoning, beginning with hypotheses and theories and then drawing logical conclusions from them. The last-mentioned authors also try to maintain objectivity in their data analysis, conducting predetermined statistical procedures and using objective criteria to evaluate the outcomes of these

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procedures. They often formulate theory by inductive reasoning e.g. observing situations and attempting to support their theory by drawing and testing the conclusions that follow logically from it.

In qualitative studies the focus is on the control of all the components of the actions and representations of the participants; the variables are controlled and the study is guided by an acute focus on how variables are related. The researcher plans and executes this control in the way the study and its instruments are designed. Respondents or research subjects are usually not free to express data that cannot be captured by the predetermined instruments. In qualitative studies, the variables are usually not controlled because it is exactly this freedom and natural development of action and representation that the researcher wishes to capture; the purpose is to understand and also to explain in argument by using evidence from the data and from the literature about what the phenomena or data used are studying (Henning, Van Rensburg & Smith, 2004:3). Similarly, Neuman (2006:458) maintains that qualitative data analysis is less standardised and that qualitative research is often inductive; the researcher creates new concepts and theories by blending together empirical evidence and abstract concepts.

McMillan (2008:11-12) and Shaw (1999:13) further mention the characteristics of qualitative research by pointing out that the whole and the particular are held in tension. The researcher attempts to capture data on the perceptions of local actors from the inside through the process of deep attentiveness and of empathetic understanding. Members and categories are kept in the foreground through evaluation. The main task is to make explicit the ways people in a particular setting come to understand and account for taking actions and how they manage their day-to-day situations. Qualitative data are not so much about behaviour as about actions. This does not mean that behaviour is not important; behaviour should be attended to and with some exactness because it is through the flow of behaviour or more precisely, social actions that cultural forms find articulation.

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In qualitative research, relatively little standardised instrumentation is used, especially at the outset. The researcher is the main instrument in the study, as qualitative field work is not straight forward. Most of the analysis cannot be done using mathematical techniques, but is done in words. Persuasion and judgement by reason are deeply involved and in qualitative evaluation, the facts never speak for themselves (Coldwell & Herbst, 2004:13).

In a qualitative study, the researcher studies behaviour as it occurs naturally and the data are collected directly from the source. Additionally, the researcher obtains a detailed narrative that provides an in-depth understanding of contexts and the behaviour of respondents. The focus is on why and how behaviour occurs, as well as on the participants‟ understanding meaning and its interpretation. The research design evolves and changes as the study moves forward. The researcher generates the hypothesis and grounded theory from data collected during field work. In qualitative research, behaviour is fluid, dynamic, situational, social, contextual and personal. The researcher examines the breadth and depth of the phenomena to learn more about them; he/she studies behaviour in its natural environment and collects qualitative data through in-depth interviews, participant observation, field notes, and open-ended questions. The researcher is the primary data collection instrument; presenting multiple perspectives which are rich, time consuming and subjective in nature. In qualitative research the individual interpretation of events is important e.g. the use of participant observation in in- depth interviews. The research design emerges during the early phases as the study unfolds. The reason the researcher uses the qualitative method is that he/she has the opportunity to consult the literature in cases where it is not easy to interview the respondents, such as learners with physical and/or mental impairments. Furthermore, the researcher is afforded the opportunity to observe the behaviour of the respondents and probe for further information (Nell, 2007:1).

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