In qualitative research, what is the most common tool used to gather data?

In qualitative research, interviews are the most common tool used to gather data because they provide an in-depth understanding of participants’ thoughts, feelings, and experiences. This method allows researchers to explore complex subjects and elicit detailed narratives, which are essential in qualitative studies. Through interviews, researchers can ask open-ended questions, enabling participants to express themselves freely and share their insights in a way that structured tools, such as surveys, cannot capture.

Interviews also facilitate a personal connection between the researcher and participant, allowing for follow-up questions and clarifications in real-time, which can lead to richer data. This depth of understanding is particularly valuable in social work research, where subjective experiences and perceptions play a crucial role in shaping the findings.

While tools like surveys might provide quantitative data, they are less optimal for the exploratory nature of qualitative research. Observations, although important in some studies, do not always allow for the same level of insight into participants' inner thoughts and feelings as interviews do. Experiments are primarily utilized in quantitative research to establish cause-and-effect relationships, further separating them from the qualitative research focus on understanding and interpreting social phenomena.