The interview is a particularly effective method for gathering data about individuals. The data gathered through an interview includes subjective thoughts and reasoning, emotions and past experiences. Interviews have the advantage of being able to gather first-hand information from a source of interest. However, interviews are time-consuming for both the researcher and the interviewee.
Literature is a vast resource for qualitative researchers. Literature contains both first-hand and second-hand information as well as objective and subjective information. Types of literature common in qualitative research are journals, records and personal diaries. Qualitative researchers analyze literature by reading with purpose. A researcher may have a hypothesis that can be validated or rejected through reading a piece of literature with that hypothesis in mind.
Observational studies are a form of qualitative research in which the researcher goes in directly to the subject's environment and records her observations of the subject's behavior. An example of this type of research is entering a classroom to study the behavior of students. This type of research has the advantage that researchers can observe naturally occurring behaviors as opposed to individuals' reflections of their own behavior, which may be biased. Observational research is often accompanied by records of the experience that can later be analyzed by other researchers. In essence, observational studies can later lead to qualitative literature research studies.
Focus groups allow researchers to focus on a specific collection of people. Often of interest to researchers is how ethnic or cultural groups differ. Qualitative researchers can understand these differences by forming focus groups composed of different cultures and interacting with these groups. The researcher can bring up a topic or challenge and analyze the groups' opinions, discussion patterns and problem-solving methods. Focus groups are particularly suited for developing general theories about a specific group's inner workings and in what extents these workings differ from other groups' or the mainstreams'.