What is one common method used in qualitative research?

In-depth interviews are a common method used in qualitative research as they allow researchers to gather detailed insights and personal narratives from participants. This method emphasizes understanding participants' experiences, feelings, and perspectives in a nuanced way, which is a hallmark of qualitative research. In-depth interviews create a conversational space where individuals can express their thoughts in their own words, often uncovering rich, contextual information that might not emerge through more structured or quantitative methods.

Qualitative research draws upon a variety of methods aimed at exploring social phenomena in depth, valuing subjective experience over measurable data. In-depth interviews serve this purpose by facilitating open-ended discussions that can lead to unexpected findings and deeper understanding of social issues. This contrasts with methods like controlled experiments and statistical analysis, which focus on quantifiable results and causal relationships, rather than the intricate, subjective nature of human experience that qualitative approaches strive to capture.