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READING BANK
T
EXT
1
T
OWARDS A
D
EFINITION OF
Q
UALITATIVE
R
ESEARCH
1. Read and translate the text.
The issue of defining qualitative research has been the subject of
much debate (see, for example, Denzin and Lincoln [2] or Lambert et
al. [3]), and there is a vast field of literature on qualitative methodolo-
gy which discusses, for example, data collection and analysis tech-
niques, theoretical concepts and the relationship between the research-
er and the researched. Nevertheless, Denzin and Lincoln [2, p. 2] offer
a useful generic definition:
Qualitative research is multimethod in focus, involving an in-
terpretative, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This
means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural
settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret, phenomena in
terms of the meanings people bring to them. Qualitative research
involves the studied use and collection of a variety of empirical
materials – case study, personal experience, introspective, life sto-
ry, interview, observational, historical, interactional and visual
texts – that describe routine and problematic moments and mean-
ings in individuals' lives. Accordingly, qualitative researchers de-
ploy a wide range of interconnected methods, hoping always to get
a better fix on the subject matter at hand.
The definition of what constitutes qualitative research in a Euro-
pean context and which should therefore be included in the project is
complex, as many studies have employed a combination of qualitative
and quantitative methods. The project has made significant progress in
the development of a model of identification by summarising publica-
tions according to, for example, sample generation and key findings.
Such a strategy will allow a clearer debate on what constitutes the
boundaries of qualitative inquiry.