Qualitative Research for Public Administration

Qualitative Research for Public Administration

Public administrators are often coping with scarce resources and high levels of needs. Using quantitative data to support decision-making is common to justify cost-benefit analysis. However, ultimately, public policy decisions affect human beings very personally and in a very individual way. This type of intimate input ultimately requires qualitative as well as quantitative data. Soliciting the thoughts and feelings of people who are affected by policy decisions is necessary to ensure that the policy truly reflects the needs of the community the policy is intended to serve: “a qualitative research paradigm centers everyday human experiences and understandings of the world. It is rooted in meaning-making and shines in its ability to capture the richness and depth of the research context” (Ford & Goger, 2021, par. 3).

When a public policy maker engages in quantitative research, the questions the research study is embarking upon are already predetermined. Talking to people one-to-one versus solely using surveys or consulting demographic data can offer contextual insights about what it is like to live in poverty, to face a lack of resources, face discrimination, or other experiences that have dimensions that can be difficult to quantify in standard numerical measures. Feelings, hidden obstacles, and multifactorial impacts may not be captured by a narrow quantitative study.

For example, when analyzing the economic impact of suffering chronic pain, a quantitative analysis might examine lost days of productivity or medical costs, but a qualitative study might allow a sufferer to talk about social isolation, fatigue, and other less tangible aspects of suffering from chronic pain that can cause depression and limit their ability to socially network, drive long distances, and other impacts upon their ability to work as effectively as their fully healthy and mobile coworkers.

Qualitative research uncovers unexpected attitudes, challenges, and perspectives that make it difficult for people to make optimal decisions. Qualitative research offers insights about why people do not apply for particular social programs, like difficulties with transportation or a lack of awareness of the program’s benefits. Program designers and policy-makers might not ask the right perspective, because they are not viewing the perspective from the view of the person in need, only from the perspective of previous research studies. However, it is necessary to ask new questions and be open to new challenges, especially given the longstanding and protracted nature of the many problems policy-makers are grappling with, like poverty, substance abuse, and inequality.

Qualitative research, because it takes the form of interviews, observations, and open-ended surveys, also allows participants to provide greater clarity to responses that cannot be quantified in multiple choice or ratings on a Likert scale. Respondents who might find long questionnaires confusing or tedious may feel more motivated when researchers are engaged with them in a one-on-one fashion (Ford & Goger, 2021). Some forms of qualitative research, like focus groups and observations, can also allow participants to bounce ideas off one another and to share insights communally, generating new ideas about how to cope with problems.

Qualitative research is also useful to focus on smaller subgroups that may experience a disproportionate impact from economic and other challenges. Persons of color, people living in poverty, disabled persons, or people whose experiences overlap with these different groups may feel underrepresented in public policy decisions because of their lack of relative power. Qualitative research can give these individuals a voice, and can uncover aspects of their experiences that someone creating a quantitative survey to prove or disprove a hypothesis might overlook.

Common criticisms of qualitative studies are that they lack rigor and they lack quality controls. But it is still possible to evaluate qualitative studies and determine of the studies are better or worse than others: for example, the clarity of research questions, the appropriateness of the methodologies, application of theories with consistency and rigor, and the appropriateness of the sample size and the conclusions drawn from the data (Stickley, O’ Caithain, & Homer, 2022). Qualitative research can also provide a foundation for later, more extensive quantitative studies, now that there is a knowledge base of information drawn from people’s real-life experiences.

Quantitative research tends to be backward-looking, given that it uses past research studies to frame scientific questions. Qualitative research is much more present-focused. Because of its small sample size and intensive nature, it can be costly, but the insights it yields can be so valuable it is well worth the investment of public policy researcher to conduct it. “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). Getting to know one’s neighbor—the people who are actually impacted by policy and taking the time to know their needs and thoughts—is at the heart of qualitative research. It also builds a sense of community between policy-makers, researchers, and communities, and forces researchers to engage in more intensive and immersive outreach with participants that cannot be found submitting survey or consulting a database of demographic research.