Chapter 11 Descriptive and interpretive approaches to qualitative research Robert Elliott and Ladislav Timulak Qualitative research methods today are a diverse set, encompassing approaches such as empirical phenomenology, grounded theory, ethnography, protocol analysis and dis- course analysis. By one common definition (Polkinghorne, 1983), all these methods rely on linguistic rather than numerical data, and employ meaning-based rather than statistical forms of data analysis. Distinguishing between measuring things with words and measuring them in numbers, however, may not be a particularly useful way of characterising different approaches to research. Instead, other distinctive features of qualitative research may turn out to be of far greater importance (Elliott, 1999): ◆ emphasis on understanding phenomena in their own right (rather than from some outside perspective); ◆ open, exploratory research questions (vs. closed-ended hypotheses); ◆ unlimited, emergent description options (vs. predetermined choices or rating scales); ◆ use of a special strategies for enhancing the credibility of design and analyses (see Elliott, Fischer and Rennie, 1999); and ◆ definition of success conditions in terms of discovering something new (vs. confirming what was hypothesised). Space limitations preclude a complete survey of this rapidly growing field of research methods. Instead, we will focus on what are today regarded as established, well-used methods within the descriptive–interpretive branch of qualitative research. (In parti- cular, we will not cover discourse analysis, e.g., Potter and Wetherell, 1987; Stokoe and Wiggins, this volume, or ethnography.) These methods came into their own in the 1970s and 1980s, and have become mainstream in education, nursing, and increasingly in psychology, particularly in non-traditional or professional training schools. Because there is now an extensive history with these methods, standards of good research practice have emerged (e.g., Elliott et al., 1999). Descriptive–interpretive qualitative research methods go by many ‘brand names’ in which various common elements are mixed and matched according to particular researchers’ predilections; currently popular variations include grounded theory HRMC-11.qxd 01.07.2005 03:36 PM Page 147