Reflections on Qualitative Research Methods

2020/10/29

It is an old story now, but I studied abroad during an era when qualitative research was ridiculed as not being a science, and there I met the giants of qualitative research. Having received an education in Japan based on the "learn by watching your master's back" approach, I had felt frustrated about why analysis methods weren't verbalized like statistics. I remember feeling a sense of clarity upon learning that studying research methods is essential even in qualitative research.

The Grounded Theory Approach (hereafter GTA), which I specialize in, is one of the three major qualitative research methods alongside ethnography and phenomenology. GTA proceeds with analysis based on data (hence the name "grounded") and is a method that attempts to present the mechanisms by which phenomena appearing in the data occur as a theory (hence the name "theory"). It stands apart from other methods in that highly refined analytical procedures have been verbalized, making it a research method that is easy for beginners to learn.

However, in Japan, due to inappropriate introductions at the time of its inception, what exactly constituted GTA remained unclear, and a chaotic situation persisted. Amidst this, in 2005, I had the opportunity to publish "Qualitative Research Method Seminar: Learning the Grounded Theory Approach" (Medical Sciences Shoin). From the fact that it was necessary to include "Qualitative Research Method" in the title, you can imagine that GTA's recognition was not what it is today, and its characteristics were not fully understood.

Over the 15 years since then, GTA has gradually taken root in Japan, and it has come to be featured as an equal to other research methods in recently published works such as the "Dictionary of Qualitative Psychology" (edited by Masahiro Nochi et al., Shinyosha) and "Qualitative Research Method Mapping: To Grasp Characteristics and Utilize Them" (edited by Tatsuya Sato et al., Shinyosha). However, I still receive endless inquiries saying, "I understand the basics, but I can't use it well, so I want to receive direct training." While a research method is a tool that only has meaning when used effectively, there still seems to be a large gap between learning and practice.

So far, I have written five books of different characters regarding GTA, including an introductory book, an analysis book for intermediate users, a self-study book, and a book on data collection; finally, I would like to create a practical research handbook. I hope that in 15 or 30 years, the base will expand even further and GTA will be utilized effectively.