The article by Mohajan (2018) analyzes the use of qualitative research methodology in social sciences and other related subjects. The study outlines various research methods in qualitative research and provides the advantages and disadvantages of the methodology. The review aims to help scholars to make better choices when carrying out their research using qualitative methods. Each approach is highlighted and discussed in detail with the relevant information on how it can be applied to social science research provided. Some of the advantages of qualitative methodologies include flexibility, clarity, smaller sample sizes, and avoidance of complexities. The disadvantages include data rigidity, takes time to interpret data, and findings may not be statistically representative. The authors’ objectives are to provide a basic understanding of qualitative methodology, provide different types of qualitative research, explain how the research is undertaken, and provide the strengths, weaknesses, advantages, and disadvantages of qualitative research. The study can be important for individuals attempting to use qualitative methodology.
Summary of Steps Leading to Conclusions
There has been an increase in interest in qualitative research methods in the last decade, which has necessitated a review of the various approaches. This may be viewed as the issue that the author intends on solving through this study. This scholarly work aims to help researchers by describing various approaches in qualitative research together with advantages and disadvantages. The author provides suggestions to researchers, which can be valuable. The literature review from secondary data is used as the methodology of the study. The paper utilizes both published and unpublished data sources. The research uses a review of the literature to provide insight into what other scholars have written on the topic. The author provides a complete analysis of different research methods, such as logic, ethnography, discourse analysis, case study, participant observation, counseling, therapy, and grounded theory. Each type of qualitative research is analyzed individually and, in some cases, characteristics and examples are provided. The paper does not have a major argument/finding because it is a review of the literature. The concluding remarks by the author summarize the content of the study.
Critical Evaluation
The research is important because it provides an analysis of the qualitative research methodology in great detail. Scholars can read the paper and decide which approach to use in their research. The discussion also highlights the strengths, weaknesses, advantages, and disadvantages of different qualitative approaches. This is essential as it fits the purpose and objectives of the paper. However, this review of literature has been done before, which means the paper does not provide any new information. The author does not indicate the selection criteria for the secondary sources used for the study. This is important as other researchers may want to adopt a different criterion to compare the findings.
The paper does not provide findings and merely describes the different approaches of qualitative research. The use of secondary data sources may hinder a researcher from coming up with the expected results. The author’s writing is structured properly in a way that helps the reader to follow the information in the paper. The conclusion of the paper restates the topics that have been discussed in the body of the research. The researcher only restates the purpose of the paper in the conclusion part. Thus, the conclusion is poorly stated, which is another limitation of the study.
Reference
Mohajan, H. K. (2018). Qualitative research methodology in social sciences and related subjects. Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, 7(1), 23-48.