Which of the following best defines qualitative research?

Qualitative research is best defined as research aimed at exploring concepts and understanding underlying reasons. This approach is essential in capturing the complexities of human behavior, emotions, perceptions, and motivations, which cannot easily be measured or quantified. Qualitative research typically involves methods such as interviews, focus groups, and open-ended surveys, allowing researchers to delve deeper into participants’ thoughts and feelings.

The focus on understanding rather than quantifying makes this type of research particularly useful in fields such as marketing, where understanding consumer behavior, preferences, and attitudes is crucial. Qualitative research provides rich, detailed insights that can inform strategies and decisions, enabling a more holistic view of the market and consumer trends. It is also instrumental in generating hypotheses that can be tested later through quantitative methods.

In contrast, the other choices define research methodologies that are concerned with numerical data and statistical analysis, which are characteristic of quantitative research.