<Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (March 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (March 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> In psychology, qualitative research has come to be defined as research whose findings are not arrived at by statistical or other quantitative procedures . Qualitative research is often said to be naturalistic . That is, its goal is to understand behaviour in a natural setting . Two other goals attributed to qualitative research are understanding a phenomenon from the perspective of the research participant and understanding the meanings people give to their experience . It attempts to do this by using so - called naturalistic methods--interviewing, observation, ethnography, participant observation and focus groups . Each of these methods seeks to understand the perspective of the research participant within the context of their everyday life . This means that the researcher is concerned with asking broad questions that allow the respondent to answer in their own words . These methods allow the researcher to try to qualify their understanding during the research process through further probing questions . In addition, a method such as observation allows the researcher to observe people within natural settings--particularly those in public places . This has resulted in greater understanding of people's behaviours in, for example, lifts, public transport, and queues . </P> <P> Qualitative research is sometimes said to have as its goal the understanding of the sample studied, rather than generalizing from the sample to the population . However, the results of qualitative research can be applied to other settings--as long as the reader of the research understands the limitations . For example, the research findings of a qualitative case study of primary school children in a particular school and their mobile phone usage will tell us more about the mobile phone usage of children in the general population, than of adults . However, the type of school (public or private), where it was located, and the socio - economic background of the students need to be taken into consideration when applying any findings to other settings (either schools or the general population of children). </P>

What is the main goal of qualitative research
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