Qualitative Research Questions: Examples and Best Practices

Research is all about exploring domains and finding new insights, and one of the drivers of this is qualitative research questions.

When asked right, these questions can dive deep into a topic, unearthing new data, information, or trends. But, you already know…it’s one of the main reasons you are here. You want to learn about the qualitative research survey questions to ask and how to tailor questions.

Well, you have come to the right place. In this blog, we will discuss the following -

What Are Qualitative Research Questions?
Qualitative Questionnaire Examples
Types of Qualitative Research Questions
How to Write a Qualitative Research Question
The Best Tool to Run Qualitative Research

Let’s get started!

What Are Qualitative Research Questions?

Qualitative research questions are questions used to understand complex human emotions. The answers to qualitative questions can shine insight into a person's sentiments, perceptions, experiences, and more.

More importantly, these questions can help you understand the "why" and "how" behind respondent behaviors.

If you are doing online research, then maybe the following template can be helpful. The template asks qualitative survey questions that focus on understanding why your customers are choosing you over your competitors.

Qualitative Reserach Survey

Use This Template

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Qualitative Questionnaire Examples

If you are looking for research questions on qualitative research, then read on because we will be touching on all aspects that are important.

NOTE:

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General Qualitative Research Questions

These, as the name indicates, are the most commonly used questions across research. The questions are aimed at understanding more about a person's feelings and perspective.

Some good qualitative research questions are as follows.

How do individuals define success in their personal and professional lives?
What are the common coping strategies used by people experiencing grief?
How do cultural backgrounds influence individuals' perceptions of mental health?
What factors contribute to the sense of community among residents in urban neighborhoods?

Qualitative Research Questions in Business

From helping understand consumer behavior to employee experience, these questions can unearth crucial insights. Businesses can understand the expectations (and the reasons behind them) of customers and employees and strive to satisfy both.

Here are some qualitative questions you can ask.

What are the key motivations behind consumer loyalty to a brand?
How do employees perceive the effectiveness of remote work policies in their organization?
What challenges do small business owners face in adapting to digital marketing?
How do team dynamics influence project outcomes in collaborative work environments?

Qualitative Analysis Questions

These questions are mostly focused on analyzing qualitative data. The main aim is to seek and find themes, trends, or patterns within the data.

Here are some examples of qualitative analysis questions.

What recurring themes emerge from interviews with patients regarding their treatment experiences?
How do participants describe their feelings about the changes in their local healthcare services?
What patterns can be identified in the narratives of individuals recovering from addiction?
How do respondents articulate their experiences with workplace diversity initiatives?

Qualitative Data Questions

These questions are often used during interviews or focus groups. You can use these types of qualitative questions if you want a more detailed response. In other words, it can capture more nuanced opinions and emotions of individuals.

Here are some questions to ask.

How do individuals from different age groups perceive the impact of social media on relationships?
What personal stories do participants share about their experiences with education during the pandemic?
How do community members express their views on local environmental issues?
What emotions do participants associate with their experiences of cultural identity?

Qualitative Research Questions in Nursing

These are more specific and targeted qualitative questions that can be included in healthcare surveys. It explores the patient experiences, the quality of service, and so on. The responses can help understand the challenges and coping strategies of nurses. You can use this to further improve workplace conditions and patient care.

Here are some examples of qualitative research questions in nursing.

What are the experiences of nurses dealing with burnout in high-pressure environments?
How do patients describe their interactions with healthcare providers during treatment?
What factors influence nurses' decisions to stay in or leave their profession?
How do patients perceive the quality of care received in outpatient settings?

Qualitative Research Questions in Psychology

This is yet another qualitative questionnaire with a healthcare focus. The questions asked here focus on understanding the mental health, behavior, and emotional experience of a person.

Some examples of qualitative research questions in psychology are as follows.

How do individuals with depression describe their daily challenges and coping mechanisms?
What are the lived experiences of people recovering from trauma?
How do participants perceive the role of therapy in their mental health journey?
What factors do individuals identify as contributing to their sense of self-worth?

General Qualitative Interview Questions

Qualitative questions in interviews facilitate in-depth discussion during interviews. The questions are designed such that it encourages the participants to elaborate on their responses. These are general interview questions, so you can add them to your interviews if needed.

Here are the questions.

Can you share a pivotal moment in your life that significantly influenced your career choices?
How do you feel about the support systems available for mental health in your community?
What challenges have you faced in maintaining work-life balance, and how have you addressed them?
Can you describe your experience with a specific program or service that impacted your life?

Semi-structured Interview Questions in Qualitative Research

If you don't know, semi-structured interviews are those with some predetermined questions with the flexibility to explore more. The questions can help researchers gather specific information, all the while probing deeper into a participant's experience.

Some semi-structured interview questions to ask.

What are the main challenges you encounter in your current role, and how do you address them?
Can you describe a situation where you felt particularly supported or unsupported in your work?
How do you think your background has shaped your approach to problem-solving in your field?
What changes would you suggest to improve the current processes in your organization?

Types of Qualitative Research Questions

There are four main types of qualitative research questions. Each question helps the researchers explore a bit more about a specific topic.

Descriptive Questions

These are questions for capturing the essence of experiences, behaviors, or events. The main focus is to provide a complete overview of a specific aspect of interest.

An example question - "How does someone cope with trauma?"

As you can see, the answer to this question explores all kinda coping mechanisms. This way, researchers can gather diverse responses that reveal different strategies.

Evaluative Questions

These questions are used to understand the impact of certain practices or approaches on an individual or group. This type of qualitative question is mostly used in the education section.

An example question - "What are the challenges faced by teachers in the new era of education?"

In the example, the questions prompt educators to discuss the contemporary challenges faced by teachers. By understanding the challenges, educators can measure the impact of the current educational practices and policies.

Explanatory Questions

As the name indicates, these questions strive to understand the 'how' behind a subject. It allows researchers to draw connections between variables, helping them understand complex systems.

An example question - "How does an organizational culture affect employee satisfaction?"

The question is assessing how having a good culture interconnects with employee satisfaction. The discussion can prompt organizations to look into the communication style, values, and leadership practices and how they impact job satisfaction.

Exploratory Questions

Exploratory questions are used to look into areas where we don't know much yet. The questions help researchers understand things better. Also, they can be helpful when existing knowledge or theories don't fully explain a situation.

An example question - "What are the factors influencing a student's decision to pursue higher education?"

The response to the above question can offer insights into the factors that affect student's choice to go for higher education. Researchers can further notice the patterns and themes that otherwise might not be available to understand the reasons better.

How to Write a Qualitative Research Question

Writing research questions for qualitative research can be tricky. The question needs to prompt the participants to explore more, all the while without straying from the core topic. To create a perfect qualitative research question, you should consider the following.

#1. Define Your Objective

This is a common practice to follow. Understanding what you really want to learn or explore can help you tailor the questions.

For example, your goal might be to understand how people cope with stress.

#2. Keep the Questions Specific

Broader research questions can skew the results. So, consider making your question more focused.

Here's an example.

Focused Question - What strategies do people use to manage stress in their daily lives?

Broad Question - What do people think about stress?

#3. Ensure Researchability

The questions created should be answerable through interviews, discussion, and observations. In other words, do go for simple "Yes or No" questions.

Good Question - How does stress affect people's daily routines?

Bad Question - Is stress bad?

#4. Use Simple Language

The simpler and clearer the questions are, the easier it will be for survey participants to respond to.

So, instead of asking - What are the psychological impacts of stress? - you should ask - How does stress affect your relationships with friends and family?

See, the questions are simple enough to understand and focus on at the same time.

#5. Be Original

Try to come up with questions that haven't been widely addressed. Uniqueness is always an attractive factor. Not to mention the raw and candid responses you can get from the participants.

Run Qualitative Research Surveys with SurveySparrow

Conducting research surveys is great, but collecting the responses and analyzing them can be a tough nut to crack. This is the case, especially when the research is online, and you have a high amount of responses. This is where survey tools like SurveySparrow come in handy.

The tool offers one of the best text analysis tools to analyze qualitative data. The feature analyzes the unstructured data, groups them into categories, and analyzes them to find actionable insights.

Some key insights you can expect are as follows.