Qualitative research commonly uses interviews. Qualitative interviews are usually face-to-face and are commonly audio- and often video-recorded. The most popular are individual in-depth interviews (one-on-ones) and focus group interviews (group discussions) in which between eight and 12 people participate at the same time.
Qualitative interviews follow a topic guide or a list of open-ended questions. The research instrument is flexible and the interviewer can adjust the order of questions or the way they are asked, depending on the circumstances of the particular interview. The interviewer is an integral, recognized part of the research process, often engaging with the respondent on a personal as well as a scientific plane. From interview to interview, the guide may change and develop: feedback loops are built into the interviewing process.
Focus groups utilize psychological mechanisms of group dynamics, making it not only more economical but more fruitful to interview in such a way. Members of the group stimulate each other and the resulting discussion is likely to cover more angles and provide more insight than one-on-ones.
Observation methods in qualitative research include direct and participant observation. The division between the two is not a sharp, all-or-nothing distinction, but more of a dimension. Direct observation features a detached, even invisible, observer who is using a one-way mirror or video link, or is placed to the side of the events in an unobtrusive position. In addition to taking notes, such an observer might use recording equipment and his task might include counting specific behaviors. Participant observation immerses the observer in the situation, often in the natural setting. The observer not only enters the situation, but interacts with the people involved and sometimes even takes part in their activities.
Qualitative researchers, especially those working in social sciences, often use textual analysis. The texts that are subject to analysis vary from notes, customer comments and answers to open-ended questions in surveys to longer documents, personal diaries, letters, folk stories, urban myths, songs, playground rhymes and literary work. Official correspondence and other records can also be examined. In addition to written and spoken texts, researchers use other objects for qualitative analysis. These might be collages or drawings made during the focus group, original artwork created by individual artists or amateur members of the community. They also might include commercially produced objects such as branded goods, advertisements, magazines and TV programs.
In addition to using the observation, interviewing and textual analysis methods, qualitative researchers frequently use special techniques, often originally developed by clinical psychologists.
Projective techniques help the respondents access unconscious or not clearly formulated thoughts by allowing them to express the thoughts indirectly. Instead of simply asking people what they think of a brand or a product, a researcher may ask participants to imagine the product as a person or a country. Instead of asking how respondents feel about a political party, they might ask them to draw a picture or make a collage that expresses their feelings.
Interviewing techniques borrowed from diagnostic interviews help qualitative researchers obtain a full, detailed and personal perspective. Some questioning techniques include probing, paraphrasing, reflecting, asking for clarification and laddering.
Case studies are simply in-depth descriptions of individual people or organizations, taking into account a variety of sources.