In qualitative research, what is the role of interviews?

In qualitative research, interviews serve a critical role in gathering rich, detailed data that captures individual perspectives and experiences. This method allows researchers to delve deeply into participants' thoughts, feelings, and motivations, providing context and nuance that is often missing from quantitative approaches.

Interviews facilitate open-ended dialogue, enabling participants to share their narratives in their own words, which can uncover insights that might not be accessible through structured surveys or numerical analysis. The emphasis in qualitative research is on understanding the complexities of human behavior and social phenomena, which is best accomplished through these personal interactions that capture the depth and richness of individual experiences.

This is what differentiates qualitative research methods, such as interviews, from those that focus on numerical data collection or experimental design. The results obtained through interviews can illuminate the subjective meanings and interpretations that individuals give to their situations, ultimately enriching the research findings.