Qualitative research is a type of research that aims to gather and analyse non-numerical (descriptive) data in order to gain an understanding of individuals' social reality, including understanding their attitudes, beliefs, and motivation.[1] This type of research typically involves in-depth interviews, focus groups, or observations in order to collect data that is rich in detail and context.[1] Qualitative research is often used to explore complex phenomena or to gain insight into people's experiences and perspectives on a particular topic.[1] It is particularly useful when researchers want to understand the meaning that people attach to their experiences or when they want to uncover the underlying reasons for people's behavior.[1] Qualitative methods include ethnography, grounded theory, discourse analysis, and interpretative phenomenological analysis.[2] Qualitative research methods have been used in sociology, anthropology, political science, psychology, communication studies, social work, folklore, educational research and software engineering research.[3][4][5][6]
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