QUALITATIVE RESEARCH DESIGNS: WHICH ONE IS THE BEST FOR YOUR RESEARCH?

Abstract

This study focuses on five qualitative research designs commonly used in educational research: Phenomenology, Ethnography, Grounded Theory, Case Study and Discourse Analysis. The aim of the study is to compare these designs in terms of their general characteristics, data collection tools, sample sizes, analytical methods and coding procedures. Therefore, it seeks answers to the following questions: “Which design is the most suitable one for a particular qualitative study? What are the key characteristics of each design? Phenomenology seeks an answer to the question “What is the reality?” while focusing on a specific phenomena in detail. Researchers focus on personal experiences of participants in order to explain a specific phenomenon based on the data obtained. Ethnography is used to define human behavior and its cultural and symbolic dimensions. What Grounded Theory focuses on is to emphasize the development of a theory according to the data collected throughout a study. Case Study examines real-life actual research problems in detail within a holistic framework. Discourse Analysis focuses on what is implied in a discourse rather than exact words and those who tell or write them. The study examines different studies conducted in the field of educational research and compares them according to certain criteria. The results revealed important differences and similarities among study-specific qualitative research designs in terms of general characteristics, data collection tools, sample sizes, analytical methods and coding procedures. Article visualizations: