As explained in the last Geographical Skills column, qualitative methods tend to be used when the research question requires an understanding of social and cultural processes, events and relationships. This column focuses on using interviews, focus groups and social media as tools to explore the geographies of people and places.
Qualitative research organises non-numeric information in a systematic way to provide understanding which cannot be captured in graphs, tables or quantified measurements. This means it is of particular value in recording the personal meanings of individuals’ experiences and actions in the context of their environment. It is qualitative because of the nature of the data collected. These are usually detailed descriptions (non-numerical) that are individually recorded by the investigator.
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