What does qualitative research primarily focus on?

Qualitative research primarily focuses on understanding human behavior and experiences by exploring the meanings individuals attach to their actions, thoughts, and feelings. This type of research seeks to gain insights into social phenomena from the viewpoint of those experiencing it. It often employs methods such as interviews, focus groups, and open-ended surveys to gather in-depth information, allowing researchers to capture the complexity of human experiences that cannot be quantified easily. This focus on context, perspective, and meaning distinguishes qualitative research from quantitative approaches, which emphasize numerical data and statistical analysis.