Qualitative research is any research method or design that does not rely on numerical findings but instead relies on findings that can be termed subjective. Some examples of qualitative research are oral histories, open ended (rather than numerical) question answering, interviews that end in materials that are not quantifiable but still none the less demonstrate a finding that is pertinent to the research question and of course observational data which cannot be quantified but creates a picture of the materials being studied, without being obtrusive to participants. (Trochim, 2001, pp. 152-167) There are many reasons to utilize a qualitative research design, the most pressing of which is specific individual understanding of phenomena being observed rather than measured and or tested in a hypothesis. "Qualitative research refers to a deep holistic exploration and description of an identified phenomenon in the field. The purpose of qualitative research is to elicit understanding and not to test hypotheses." (Poggenpoel & Myburgh, 2005, p. 304) Qualitative data can be created and or utilized independently to create a specific outcome or in conjunction with additional quantitative research methods and designs.
             The major tenets of qualitative research are constructive of the idea that interpreting primary information is more useful than demonstrating how such materials can be quantified, simply for the purpose of discrete inquiry. Creating research that is reflective of as much of the complete picture as one can find is essentially the goal of qualitative research. Qualitative research does not attempt to discretely resolve questions with numbers but attempts instead to develop greater understanding of the phenomena or events being studied. Qualitative research is also frequently utilized as a way to develop hypotheses that might then be addressed in future research or in multi-dimensional research at a later date and lastl...