What should be a primary focus when planning a qualitative study?

The primary focus when planning a qualitative study is understanding participants' perspectives and experiences. Qualitative research is fundamentally rooted in exploring and interpreting the meanings that individuals ascribe to their experiences. This approach emphasizes the depth of understanding rather than breadth, which is characteristic of quantitative studies.

In qualitative research, rich, detailed data is gathered through methods such as interviews, focus groups, and observations. This allows researchers to capture the nuances of participants' thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, providing insights into complex phenomena that cannot be quantified. The aim is to paint a holistic picture of the participants' realities, making their voices and experiences central to the research process.

The other choices do not align with the primary aims of qualitative research. Gathering large amounts of numerical data typically relates to quantitative research, which seeks to analyze relationships between variables statistically. Eliminating all biases and personal opinions is challenging in qualitative research, where the subjective nature of human experience is often embraced rather than completely eradicated. Additionally, maximizing the generalizability of findings is more relevant in quantitative studies, where researchers often seek to apply results broadly across populations. In qualitative research, the focus is more on richness and context, making the experiences of a specific group or individual particularly relevant.