Experience shows that once people understand the purpose of the research and that research will help them directly or indirectly, in the short or long run, they cooperate. Participation in interviews and FGDs also provides them an opportunity to express their feelings that they have long wanted to share with someone.

OBSERVATIONS

Observation method also comes under qualitative methods. It is common to divide observations into two broad types: participant observations and non-participant observations. The latter differs from the former in the sense that in the former the researcher takes part in the community life, lives for a substantial period of time in the field, mixes with people, becomes one of them, and then writes about his practices and ideas. In non-participant observation method, a researcher simply observes their behaviour and ideas as an outsider.

CONCLUSION

There is no simple way to decide which method should be used in a particular study. The choice depends on a number of factors: objectives of the study; past traditions; preferences and competence of researchers; current methodological fashions in the community of researchers; time, money and other resources at the disposal of the researcher; and facilities (such as computing facilities) available. It is always good to discuss your research design with experts in the field. They may give you suggestions, some of which may be quite useful. In general, however, if the purpose is to test a hypothesis we go for quantitative methods (experimental method or survey) and if the purpose is to collect in-depth and rich data we go for qualitative methods. Some people suggest that in exploratory (first time studies), qualitative methods may be preferred. They will help in generating hypotheses which may later be tested in quantitative studies.