IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/rbs/ijbrss/v11y2022i6p618-625.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research in social science studies

Author

Listed:
  • Kelvin Mwita

    (Department of Public Services and Human Resource Management, Mzumbe University, P. O Box 1, Mzumbe - Tanzania)

Abstract

This study aimed at examining the strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research in social science studies. The study conducted a systematic literature review of 22 published journal articles to achieve the objective. The review revealed that the qualitative approach was flexible, offered in-depth and detailed information, allowed the use of multiple data collection methods and minimised the chance of having missing data. Moreover, the approach was found to integrate human touch, was cost-effective and was indeed the only option in some cases of research problems. On the other hand, the approach is prone to researchers’ subjectivity, involves complex data analysis, makes anonymity difficult and has limited scope in its generalizability. Similarly, the approach makes replication of findings challenging, and the findings may be influenced by the researcher’s bias. It is concluded, therefore, that researchers should take necessary precautions when using the approach to ensure that weaknesses of qualitative research do not bar them from achieving research objectives. Key Words:qualitative research, constructivists, positivist paradigm, critical paradigm, interpretative paradigm

Suggested Citation

  • Kelvin Mwita, 2022. "Strengths and weaknesses of qualitative research in social science studies," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(6), pages 618-625, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:rbs:ijbrss:v:11:y:2022:i:6:p:618-625
    DOI: 10.20525/ijrbs.v11i6.1920
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.ssbfnet.com/ojs/index.php/ijrbs/article/view/1920/1444
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://doi.org/10.20525/ijrbs.v11i6.1920
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.20525/ijrbs.v11i6.1920?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Haradhan Kumar MOHAJAN, 2018. "Qualitative research methodology in social sciences and related subjects," Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, Alliance of Central-Eastern European Universities, vol. 7(1), pages 23-48, March.
    2. Kelvin Mwita, 2022. "Factors influencing data saturation in qualitative studies," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(4), pages 414-420, June.
    3. Kelvin Mwita, 2022. "Factors to consider when choosing data collection methods," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 11(5), pages 532-538, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Peng Sun & Xiaode Zuo, 2024. "Philosophical Foundations of Management Research: A Comprehensive Review," Journal of Scientific Reports, IJSAB International, vol. 6(1), pages 1-22.
    2. Montserrat Jiménez-Partearroyo & Ana Medina-López & Sudhir Rana, 2024. "Business intelligence and business analytics in tourism: insights through Gioia methodology," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 20(3), pages 2287-2321, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pang, Qingyun & Hao, Fei & Xiao, Honggen & Bao, Jigang, 2024. "Community empowerment: Pro-poor tourism income distribution," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    2. Mohammed Mashary Alnaim & Emad Noaime, 2024. "Spatial Dynamics and Social Order in Traditional Towns of Saudi Arabia’s Nadji Region: The Role of Neighborhood Clustering in Urban Morphology and Decision-Making Processes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-23, March.
    3. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2022. "Four Waves of Feminism: A Blessing for Global Humanity," MPRA Paper 114328, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 09 Jul 2022.
    4. Maria Lúcia Pato, 2024. "A Decade of Olive Oil Tourism: A Bibliometric Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-14, February.
    5. Natalia Kowalska & Ewelina Brodawka & Adam Smoliński & Katarzyna Zarębska, 2022. "The European Education Initiative as a Mitigation Mechanism for Energy Transition," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-18, September.
    6. Mohajan, Devajit & Mohajan, Haradhan, 2023. "Families of Grounded Theory: A Theoretical Structure for Novel Researchers," MPRA Paper 116752, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 24 Jan 2023.
    7. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2022. "An Overview on the Feminism and Its Categories," MPRA Paper 114625, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 02 Jul 2022.
    8. Mohajan, Devagit & Mohajan, Haradhan, 2022. "Profit Maximization Strategy in an Industry: A Sustainable Procedure," MPRA Paper 114675, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 21 Jun 2022.
    9. Mohajan, Devajit & Mohajan, Haradhan, 2023. "Mathematical Model for Nonlinear Budget Constraint: Economic Activities on Increased Budget," MPRA Paper 117299, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 17 Mar 2023.
    10. Balan Sundarakani & Okey Peter Onyia, 2021. "Fast, furious and focused approach to Covid-19 response: an examination of the financial and business resilience of the UAE logistics industry," Journal of Financial Services Marketing, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 26(4), pages 237-258, December.
    11. Md. Tarek Chowdhury & Aditi Sarkar & Sanjoy Kumar Paul & Md. Abdul Moktadir, 2022. "A case study on strategies to deal with the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic in the food and beverage industry," Operations Management Research, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 166-178, June.
    12. José Satsumi López-Morales & Héctor Francisco Salazar-Núñez & Claudia Guadalupe Zarrabal-Gutiérrez, 2022. "The impact of qualitative methods on article citation: an international business research perspective," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(6), pages 3225-3236, June.
    13. Agnes Kriszan & Birte Nienaber, 2024. "Researching Playfully? Assessing the Applicability of LEGO ® Serious Play ® for Researching Vulnerable Groups," Societies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-11, January.
    14. ROY, Lia & MOLLA, Rashed & MOHAJAN, Haradhan Kumar, 2021. "Cost Minimization Is Essential For The Sustainable Development Of An Industry: A Mathematical Economic Model Approach," Annals of Spiru Haret University, Economic Series, Universitatea Spiru Haret, vol. 21(1), pages 37-71.
    15. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2022. "Cost minimization analysis of a running firm with economic policy," MPRA Paper 114951, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 04 May 2022.
    16. Duraj, Kamila & Grunow, Daniela & Chaliasos, Michael & Laudenbach, Christine & Siegel, Stephan, 2024. "Rethinking the stock market participation puzzle: A qualitative approach," IMFS Working Paper Series 210, Goethe University Frankfurt, Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability (IMFS).
    17. Mohajan, Devajit & Mohajan, Haradhan, 2022. "Sensitivity Analysis among Commodities and Coupons during Utility Maximization," MPRA Paper 115554, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 04 Oct 2022.
    18. Mohajan, Devajit & Mohajan, Haradhan, 2023. "Bulimia Nervosa: A Psychiatric Problem of Disorder," MPRA Paper 117258, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 17 Mar 2023.
    19. Zeng Zhilan & Subadrah Madhawa Nair & Walton Wider, 2022. "Chinese EFL Undergraduates’ Pragmatic Competence in English Letter Writing," World Journal of English Language, Sciedu Press, vol. 12(5), pages 239-239, June.
    20. Kudzayi Savious Tarisayi & Sadhana Manik, 2021. "Affirmation and Defamation: Zimbabwean Migrant Teachers’ Survival Strategies in South Africa," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 183-204, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rbs:ijbrss:v:11:y:2022:i:6:p:618-625. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Umit Hacioglu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ssbffea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.