Alternative Types of Qualitative Research

Beyond Creswell's Five Approaches

According to Creswell, there are five basic approaches to qualitative research: case studies, phenomenology, narrative research, ethnographies, and grounded theory approaches. However, not all theorists classify qualitative research according to these categories. Some have a separate category for pure qualitative 'history' approaches whereby the focus of the study is upon a specific past event or phenomenon. This approach uses primary sources like letters, newspapers of the period, journals, interviews, recordings, and other types of information accumulated by past researchers. It is used to "describe and examine events of the past to understand the present and anticipate potential future effects" (Qualitative research designs, 2014, UMSL).

Another approach to qualitative research is symbolic interactionism or participant observation, in which the researcher becomes 'part' of the research process and data-gathering. "Participant observation is a period of intensive social interaction between the researcher and the subjects….Participant observers are trained in techniques of observation, which distinguishes them from regular participants" (PPA 696). Participant observers are openly subjective in their orientation as they are literally participating in the activities they are chronicling, even though they are more self-reflective about such participation than someone who is untrained in social science research. "Participant observation is founded on the theory of symbolic interactionism…People develop shared perspectives through social interaction. Objective frameworks, rules, goals, norms, values, rewards, organizational structures may set conditions and fix consequences for actions, but they do not determine what people will do. People act in terms of the meaning of these structures for them" (PPA 696).