Scientific essay: Exploring qualitative methodologies that contribute to strengthening the scientific research process
Keywords:
qualitative methodologies, socio-natural phenomena, complexity, reflection, comprehensiveness.Abstract
Qualitative methodologies have garnered significant attention due to their relevance and applicability across diverse domains, serving as essential instruments for the exploration and understanding of social phenomena. These approaches enable a nuanced examination of the latent human dynamics that shape societal structures and interactions. This essay offers a reflective analysis of the role qualitative methodologies play in enhancing the research process, addressing key questions such as: Which qualitative methods are most recognized, and what are their principal contributions to the generation of knowledge?
To this end, the essay examines 30 methodological tools—including in-depth interviews, discourse analysis, content analysis, and participant observation—demonstrating their efficacy in interpreting multifactorial and complex realities. The discussion further elucidates the purpose of these methodologies, emphasizing their complementary role to quantitative approaches by uncovering subjective perspectives and analytical categories that elude numerical measurement.
In conclusion, the essay provides a comprehensive overview of the selected methodologies, outlines the challenges and opportunities inherent in their application, and underscores their transformative potential in both scientific inquiry and professional practice within an increasingly dynamic, interconnected, and complex global context.
Downloads
References
Åkerlind, G. S. (2005). Variation and commonality in phenomenographic research methods. Higher Education Research & Development, 24(4), 321–334. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360500284672
Atkinson, R. (1998). The life story interview. (Vol. 44). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412986205
Bakhtin, M. (1981). The dialogic imagination: Four essays. University of Texas Press. https://dn790001.ca.archive.org/0/items/bakhtin_IMAGINATION/bakhtin_IMAGINATION.pdf
Bertaux, D. (Ed.). (1981). Biography and society: The life history approach in the social sciences (Vol. 23). Sage. https://archive.org/details/biographysociety0000unse/page/n5/mode/2up
Bishop, R. (2011). Freeing ourselves: Indigenous pathways to self-determination in research. Sense Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6091-415-7
Bloch, M. (1954). The historian’s craft. Manchester University Press. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL22859871M/The_historian's_craft
Bray, J. N., Lee, J., Smith, L. L., & Yorks, L. (2000). Collaborative inquiry in practice: Action, reflection, and making meaning. SAGE. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL8028439M/Collaborative_Inquiry_in_Practice
Canales Cerón, M. (2006). Metodologías de investigación social: Introducción a los oficios. Lom Ediciones. https://www.academia.edu/15399849/Canales_Ceron_Manuel_Metodologias_de_la_investigacion_social
Carr, W., & Kemmis, S. (1986). Becoming critical: Education, knowledge, and action research. Falmer Press. https://www.asu.edu.bh/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2-Becoming-Critical-Education-Knowledge-and-Action.pdf
Chang, H. (2008). Autoethnography as method. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315433370
Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. SAGE. https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/papers/v86n0.825
Clandinin, D. J., & Connelly, F. M. (2000). Narrative inquiry: Experience and story in qualitative research. Jossey-Bass. https://archive.org/details/narrativeinquiry0000clan/page/n7/mode/2up
Corona Lisboa, J. L. (2018). Investigación cualitativa: fundamentos epistemológicos, teóricos y metodológicos. Vivat Academia, (144), 69-76. http://doi.org/10.15178/va.2018.144.69-76
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4ª ed.). SAGE Publications. https://academia.utp.edu.co/seminario-investigacion-II/files/2017/08/INVESTIGACION-CUALITATIVACreswell.pdf
De Jesús, C. (2024). El Valor de la Investigación Cualitativa en el Contexto Digital. Corporación Universitaria de Asturias. https://www.centro-virtual.com/recursos/biblioteca/pdf/investigacion_cualitativa/unidad3_pdf1.pdf
Denis Wood, J. F. (2010). Rethinking the power of maps. Guilford Press. https://archive.org/details/rethinkingpowero0000wood
Denzin, N. K. (1989). Interpretive biography. SAGE Publications. https://archive.org/details/interpretivebiog0000denz
Denzin, N. K. (2003). Performance ethnography: Critical pedagogy and the politics of culture. SAGE Publications. https://archive.org/details/performanceethno0000denz
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Handbook of Qualitative Research. SAGE Publications. https://archive.org/details/handbookofqualit0000unse_c9a5
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.). (2011). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4ª ed.). SAGE Publications. https://archive.org/details/sagehandbookofqu0000unse_i2i6
DeWalt, K. M., & DeWalt, B. R. (2011). Participant observation: A guide for fieldworkers. Rowman & Littlefield. https://catalog.library.vanderbilt.edu/discovery/fulldisplay/alma991037838589703276/01VAN_INST:vanui
Douglass, B. G., & Moustakas, C. (1985). Heuristic inquiry: The internal search to know. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 25(3), 39-55. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022167885253004
Ellis, C., Adams, T. E., & Bochner, A. P. (2011). Autoethnography: An overview. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung, 12(1). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-12.1.1589
Fairclough, N. (1995). Critical discourse analysis: The critical study of language. Longman. https://archive.org/details/criticaldiscours0000fair
Fals Borda, O. (1987). The application of participatory action-research in Latin America. International Sociology, 2(4), 329-347. https://doi.org/10.1177/026858098700200401
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogía del oprimido. Siglo XXI Editores. https://dn721903.ca.archive.org/0/items/freire-pedagogia-del-oprimido/freire-pedagogia-del-oprimido_text.pdf
Gadamer, H. G. (1975). Truth and method. Continuum. https://archive.org/details/truthmethod0000gada/page/n3/mode/2up
Garfinkel, H. (1967). Studies in ethnomethodology. Prentice-Hall. https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5544366M/Studies_in_ethnomethodology.
Gee, J. P. (2014). An introduction to discourse analysis: Theory and method. Routledge. https://books.google.com.gt/books/about/An_Introduction_to_Discourse_Analysis.html?id=VkmpW9xa9FwC&redir_esc=y
Geertz, C. (1973). The Interpretation of Cultures. Basic Books. https://archive.org/details/interpretationof00geer
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for Qualitative Research. Aldine de Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203793206
Goodson, I. (2001). The Story of Life History: Origins of the Life History Method in Sociology. Identity, 1(2), 129–142. https://doi.org/10.1207/S1532706XID0102_02
Hammersley, M., & Atkinson, P. (2007). Ethnography: Principles in practice. Routledge. https://archive.org/details/ethnographyprinc0000hamm
Haraway, D. (1991). Simians, cyborgs, and women: The reinvention of nature. Routledge. https://archive.org/details/simianscyborgswo0000hara
Harding, S. (1987). Feminism and methodology. Indiana University Press. https://archive.org/details/feminismmethodol0000hard
Harley, J. B. (1989). Deconstructing the map. Cartographica, 26(2), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.3138/E635-7827-1757-9T53
Heritage, J. (1984). Garfinkel and ethnomethodology. Polity Press. https://archive.org/details/garfinkelethnome0000heri
Hernández Sampieri, R., Fernández Collado, C., & Baptista Lucio, P. (2014). Metodología de la investigación (5ª ed.). https://www.smujerescoahuila.gob.mx/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Sampieri.Met.Inv.pdf
Hine, C. (2015). Ethnography for the Internet: Embedded, Embodied and Everyday. Bloomsbury Publishing. https://archive.org/details/ethnographyforin0000hine
Kemmis, S., & McTaggart, R. (2005). Participatory action research: Communicative action and the public sphere. En N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (pp. 559-603). SAGE Publications. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-07735-023
Kincheloe, J. L., & McLaren, P. (2005). Rethinking critical theory and qualitative research. En N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (pp. 303-342). SAGE Publications. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261773451_Rethinking_Critical_Theory_and_Qualitative_Research
Kozinets, R. V. (2010). Netnography: Doing Ethnographic Research Online. SAGE Publications. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/267922181_Netnography_Doing_Ethnographic_Research_Online
Krippendorff, K. (2018). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (4th ed.). SAGE Publications. https://www.metodos.work/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/content_analysis-kippendorf-book.pdf
Krueger, R. A., & Casey, M. A. (2015). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied research (5th ed.). SAGE Publications. https://books.google.es/books?hl=es&lr=&id=8wASBAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Krueger,+R.+A.,+%26+Casey,+M.+A.+(2015).+Focus+groups:+A+practical+guide+for+applied+research+(5th+ed.).+SAGE+Publications.+&ots=XggFBCbNnV&sig=EODd4DCqE0rDCH7bJoqd1qHIsQk#v=onepage&q&f=false
Kvale, S. (1996). InterViews: An introduction to qualitative research interviewing. SAGE Publications. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1098-2140(99)80208-2
Lewin, K. (1946). Action research and minority problems. Journal of Social Issues, 2(4), 34-46. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4560.1946.tb02295.x
Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE Publications. https://es.scribd.com/document/807643958/Lincoln-y-Guba-1985-Naturalistic-Inquiry
Madison, D. S. (2012). Critical ethnography: Method, ethics, and performance. SAGE Publications. https://archive.org/details/criticalethnogra0000madi_g8u3
Martínez Ruiz, H. (2018). Metodología de la investigación (1ª ed.). Cengage Learning Editores. https://biblioteca.izt.uam.mx/vufind/Record/CENGAGE_9786075266688
Marton, F. (1981). Phenomenography-Describing conceptions of the world around us. Instructional Science, 10(2), 177-200. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00132516
Medina Romero, M. Ángel, Hurtado Tiza, D. R., Muñoz Murillo, J. P., Ochoa Cervantez, D. O., & Izundegui Ordóñez, G. (2023). Método mixto de investigación: Cuantitativo y cualitativo. Instituto Universitario de Innovación Ciencia y Tecnología Inudi Perú. https://doi.org/10.35622/inudi.b.105
Mignolo, W. (2011). The darker side of western modernity: Global futures, decolonial options. Duke University Press. https://archive.org/details/darkersideofwest0000mign/page/n5/mode/2up
Mira, J. J., Pérez-Jover, V., Lorenzo, S., Aranaz, J. M., & Vitaller, J. (2004). La investigación cualitativa: una alternativa también válida. Atención Primaria, 34(4), 161-166. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0212-6567(04)78902-7
Morgan, D. L. (1997). Focus groups as qualitative research (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications. https://archive.org/details/focusgroupsasqua0000morg_q1o3
Moustakas, C. (1990). Heuristic research: Design, methodology, and applications. SAGE Publications. https://onesearch.library.uwa.edu.au/discovery/fulldisplay/alma991270058002101/61UWA_INST:UWA
Moustakas, C. (1994). Phenomenological research methods. SAGE Publications. https://archive.org/details/phenomenological0000mous
Murthy, D. (2008). Digital ethnography: An examination of the use of new technologies for social research. Sociology, 42(5), 837-855. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038508094565
Neuendorf, K. A. (2017). The content analysis guidebook (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications. https://methods.sagepub.com/book/mono/preview/the-content-analysis-guidebook-2e.pdf
Nyumba, T. O., Wilson, K., Derrick, C. J., & Mukherjee, N. (2018). The use of focus group discussion methodology: Insights from two decades of application in conservation. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 9(1), 20–32. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12860
Patton, M. Q. (2015). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice (4ª ed.). SAGE Publications. https://es.scribd.com/document/370555494/PATTON-2015-Qualitative-Research-Evaluation-Methods
Paulus, T., Lester, J., & Dempster, P. (2014). Digital Tools for Qualitative Research. SAGE Publications.
Pink, S. (2013). Doing visual ethnography (3ª ed.). SAGE Publications. https://es.scribd.com/document/704476952/Pink-2013-Doing-Visual-Ethnography
Quijano, A. (2000). Coloniality of Power and Eurocentrism in Latin America. International Sociology, 15(2), 215-232. https://doi.org/10.1177/0268580900015002005
Ricoeur, P. (1981). Hermeneutics and the human sciences: Essays on language, action and interpretation. Cambridge University Press. https://archive.org/details/hermeneuticshuma0000ricu
Riessman, C. K. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences. SAGE Publications. https://archive.org/details/narrativemethods0000ries
Rodríguez-Gómez, Rodolfo. (2023). Investigaciones cualitativas en salud pública publicadas en revistas biomédicas colombianas entre el 2011 y el 2021. Biomédica, 43(1), 69-82 https://revistabiomedica.org/index.php/biomedica/article/view/6476/5194
Rose, G. (2016). Visual methodologies: An introduction to researching with visual materials (4th ed.). SAGE Publications. https://archive.org/details/visualmethodolog0000rose_o7s0
Salgado Lévano, A. (2009). Fundamentos epistemológicos de la metodología cualitativa. Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola. https://repositorio.usil.edu.pe/entities/publication/76adb27c-595f-4e32-96b1-bdc804bb71c1
Salinas González, J. A., & Gómez Navas, J. S. (2018). Investigación Cualitativa y Comunicación en la era Digital: Una Revisión Crítica de la Literatura Científica. En La investigación cualitativa en la comunicación y sociedad digital: nuevos retos y oportunidades (pp. 11-24). Ediciones Egregius. https://www.academia.edu/38581707/La_investigaci%C3%B3n_cualitativa_en_la_comunicaci%C3%B3n_y_sociedad_digital_nuevos_retos_y_oportunidades
Salmons, J. (2015). Doing qualitative research online. SAGE Publications. https://uk.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/73022_Salmons_Doing_Qualitative_Research_Online.pdf
Seidman, I. (2013). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (4th ed.). Teachers College Press. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=4691878
Silver, C., & Lewins, A. (2014). Using software in qualitative research: A step-by-step guide (2nd ed.). SAGE Publications. https://archive.org/details/usingsoftwareinq0000lewi
Silverman, D. (2016). Qualitative research (4ª ed.). SAGE Publications. https://archive.org/details/doingqualitative0000silv_r4r5
Soto, M. (2017). Aplicación de la teoría fundamentada grounded theory a estudios de investigación cualitativa. Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa. https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=2499458
Spradley, J. P. (1980). Participant observation. Holt, Rinehart and Winston. https://archive.org/details/participantobser0000spra
Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. SAGE Publications. https://archive.org/details/artofcasestudyre0000stak
Stake, R. E. (2006). Multiple case study analysis. Guilford Press. https://archive.org/details/multiplecasestud0000stak
Taylor, S. J., & Bogdan, R. (1987). Introducción a los métodos cualitativos de investigación (Vol. 1, p. 348). https://pics.unison.mx/maestria/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Introduccion-a-Los-Metodos-Cualitativos-de-Investigacion-Taylor-S-J-Bogdan-R.pdf
Thompson, E. P. (1966). The making of the English working class. Vintage Books. https://archive.org/details/makingofenglishw0000thom_p8v7
Torii, M. G., Murakami, T., & Ochiai, Y. (2024). Expanding Horizons in HCI Research Through LLM-Driven Qualitative Analysis. https://arxiv.org/abs/2401.04138
van Manen, M. (1990). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive pedagogy. SUNY Press. https://archive.org/details/researchinglived0000vanm
Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th ed.). SAGE Publications. https://ebooks.umu.ac.ug/librarian/books-file/Case%20Study%20Research%20and%20Applications.pdf
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Wener Armando Ochoa Orozco

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.